Everything I Need
by ellalive
Summary: Picks up after Logan leaves for London. Can he handle a year without the love of his life? And what will happen when Rory is made an offer that she can't refuse? ROGAN.
1. I'd Give Anything

This is my first Gilmore Girls fic, so please be nice. I'm obsessed with the show, and I absolutely adore Rory and Logan. I cried when he left for London, which is where this story picks up. I hope you enjoy, I've put a lot of effort into this story.

-

Rory was awake, but afraid to open her eyes. She knew what she would find, and was afraid to look. She instinctively reached out, but her hand felt nothing but emptiness. Sad, cold, lonely emptiness. Sighing, Rory opened her eyes which fell on the sight she had been afraid to see. The aforementioned emptiness. There was no blonde-haired wonder boy lying next to her. She rubbed her puffy, red eyes and sniffled. Glancing at the clock, she mentally registered twenty-four hours. It had been twenty-four full hours since she'd last seen Logan. Twenty-four hours since she'd kissed him or simply touched him. God, what she would give to just touch him right now. He'd called when his flight landed in Heathrow, but he was tired and she was still crying, ergo making it a short conversation. She hadn't quite stopped crying since he'd left, except for the short breaks in which she would sleep. She was wallowing. Rory hated herself for doing it, but she couldn't help it. It hurt too much to do anything else. Her phone had rung a few times, but after checking the caller ID to make sure it wasn't him, she simply let it ring.

Rory could feel new tears forming. She didn't even bother to try and hold them back. It was useless by now. Grabbing a handful of tissues off of the nightstand, she blew her nose and sniffled. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, startling her. Her heart jumped at the prospect of it being Logan, but she immediately pushed that thought out of her mind and heart. It wasn't him.

"Rory! Rory Gilmore, I know you're in there. Open the door pronto. Right now," came the demanding voice of one Lorelai Gilmore. "Mommy's here! Be happy!" The last bit came out in a sing-song voice.

Rory forced herself out of the bed and stumbled towards the door. She slowly opened it, looking anything but happy. Lorelai frowned as she entered the apartment, quickly setting down a bag she was carrying and engulfing her daughter in a hug.

"Oh, Kid," she consoled.

Rory felt more tears roll down her cheeks and fall onto her mother's shoulder. "He's gone," Rory managed to mumble through sniffles.

"Come on," Lorelai said, gently leading her daughter towards the bed and plopping down on it next to her. She grinned and placed the brown paper grocery bag between them. "I brought wallowing food."

"Wallowing food?" Rory questioned; tears having temporarily subsided.

"Yes." Lorelai began to reveal the contents of the bag. "Chocolate frosting, chocolate-chip cookie dough, Doritos, pop-tarts, Malamars, and chocolate-chip-chunk muffins." Lorelai explained everything with a big grin on her face and shoved a large chocolate-chip-chunk muffin into Rory's hands. "Eat up."

Rory looked down at the muffin and gently picked a chunk of chocolate off the top and popped it into her mouth. "I like chocolate," she stated meekly through a sniffle as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Hun," Lorelai said softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rory shrugged. "There's not much to talk about. Logan's gone. He's thousands of miles away. He's in a different country…he's just gone."

"Rory, you're making it sound like he dropped off the face of the earth completely. He's in London, not on Pluto," Lorelai reasoned, taking out a muffin for herself.

Rory took a small bite out of her own muffin. "He wouldn't even let me go to the airport with him," she explained. Lorelai flashed her daughter a quizzical look. "He-he said that if I went with him, he wouldn't be able to get on the plane." Lorelai's face saddened and she pulled Rory in for another hug. "I miss him so much, Mom," Rory choked out through a new onset of tears. "It's barely been a day and I just…I don't know what to do. I want him to come back. I try to be so strong…a-and usually I'm pretty good at it, y'know? But not when it comes to Logan."

"Kid," Lorelai said as they parted. She pushed a lock of hair behind Rory's left ear. "I know this might not be what you want to hear right now, but it will get easier. I know it doesn't seem that way right now because the pain's fresh, but there will come a day in the not too-distant future where you won't have to cry. I'm not saying you'll stop missing him, but it will get easier. I promise."

"I know you're right," Rory agreed. "But I just don't see how that's possible right now. Right now it hurts just to think about him. I keep…I keep replaying conversations that we had over and over again in my mind. I keep trying to remember everything about him. Every line on his face when he smiles, the sound of his laugh…what it feels like to be in his arms…" Rory laid down again and curled up. Lorelai rubbed her back, trying desperately to console her devastated daughter. A few minutes later, the phone let out a shrill ring. Rory didn't seem to even notice, and Lorelai leaned over her to get it off the nightstand.

"Hello?" Lorelai asked, holding it up to her ear.

"Rory?" Came the familiar voice of Logan. Rory's name came out as more of a croak. Even in just saying Rory's name, Lorelai could tell that he was tired.

"No, it's Lorelai."

"Lorelai? Is Rory okay? Is she there?"

"No to the first, yes to the second."

By this time, Rory had rolled over to look at her mother. She had a hopeful look on her face. Lorelai mouthed the name 'Logan' to her daughter, and Rory immediately jumped, grabbing the phone from her mother.

"Can I talk to h–"

"Logan?" Rory asked excitedly.

"Hey, Ace, how are you holdin' up?"

Rory rubbed her teary eyes and sniffled slightly. She felt a little better just hearing his voice. "I'm alright," she lied.

"I know, I'm a wreck, too," Logan replied.

Rory smiled. "Don't go getting all mushy on me, Huntzberger."

"I won't if you won't," he compromised.

Rory momentarily weighed the options in her head. "I can't make any promises, so maybe just for a little bit." She could hear him grin on the other line, and settled back into the pillows as Lorelai removed herself from the bed and went over to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee.

"So how are you _really_?" Logan prodded.

"You want the truth?"

"The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God," Logan tried to joke.

Rory sighed before answering. "I'm a mess. I haven't left the apartment since you left. I went straight back to bed and have been crying off and on ever since. I didn't even get out of bed to make coffee. My mom finally came over this morning and is shoving chocolate muffins down my throat."

"Not even to make coffee?" Logan asked incredulously, trying to mask the pain it caused him to hear how Rory had really been holding up.

"Nope, not even to make coffee," she confirmed. "So how is London?"

"I wouldn't know, I've been in offices since I got here," Logan explained.

"Hence the tiredness."

"Yes, hence the tiredness. I haven't slept since I last saw you," Logan said sadly.

"I have a confession to make."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"Since we're agreeing to be mushy this one time, I'll admit that I've been listening to _Somewhere Only We Know_."

"No, Ace, not the sad song!" He said in mock fear.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Rory stated.

"Oh simple thing, where have you gone?" Logan quoted the song.

"Logan, don't," Rory giggled.

"Did I just hear a laugh?" He asked.

"No…maybe," Rory confessed. Rory heard voices in the background on the other line, and Logan sighed.

"I hate to say this, Ace, but I've gotta get going," Logan said sadly.

Rory pouted, even though he couldn't see her. She couldn't help it. "Okay," she sighed.

"Call me before you go to bed, okay?"

"I will," Rory agreed.

"I love you, Rory. You know that, right?"

"I know," she responded quietly. "And I love you. I miss you. A lot."

"I miss you, too. Don't forget to call tonight."

"I could never forget to call you. Goodbye."

"Bye."

Rory pressed the 'End' button and put the phone back on the nightstand with a sigh. Lorelai came over with a hot mug of coffee and handed it to her.

"Thank you," Rory said gratefully as she sat up and took a sip.

"You okay?" Lorelai asked, sitting down next to her.

"No, but I'm getting there," Rory replied with a nod. "I think I'll be okay eventually."

"You'll see him soon," Lorelai reminded her, wrapping an arm around her daughter's slender shoulders.

"I know." Rory took another sip of her coffee and looked around the apartment. She placed her mug on the nightstand and grabbed Logan's pillow from his side of the bed. She hugged it and buried her face into the soft, feathery cushiness. Breathing deeply, she relaxed into the familiar scent of him. His cologne mixed with the light scent of shampoo. She loved that smell. It was comfort, it was home, it was Logan.

-

"Well yes, Doyle, I'll agree with you on that, but Cloud faced perilous dangers. I mean, he had an entire herd to take care of. Kids are hard, but it's just _one_ kid."

"Leopard seals, Paris! Need I remind you of the leopard seals?" Doyle retaliated.

"No, Doyle, I remember the leopard seals. But Cloud had mountain lions, rival stallions, and mother nature to deal with," Paris reasoned.

"Mother nature? You wanna talk mother nature? Sub-zero temperatures!" Doyle took a moment to compose himself before continuing. "Dead baby penguins. Dead baby penguins!"

"Guys, guys, guys, can't we just agree that the Cloud documentary and the penguin movie were both good?" Rory tried to compromise.

"Rory, do not speak of the penguin movie if you have not watched the penguin movie," Doyle said in complete and utter seriousness.

"I've seen the…the penguin movie," Rory lied in her own defense.

"Oh yeah?" Paris jumped in. "The What of the Penguins?"

"What?" Rory asked in complete confusion.

"March!" Doyle shouted. "The _March _of the Penguins, Rory."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I haven't seen the penguin movie. But I'm sure it was excellent."

"Oh, it was. It _was_ excellent," Doyle said passionately, causing Paris to roll her eyes and mumble something about Cloud.

Rory glanced down at her watch and practically jumped out of her seat. "Oh, crap! Is it really 1:30?" Paris and Doyle nodded. "Lunch was great you guys, but I really have to get back to work." After saying goodbye, Rory hurried out of the restaurant and to her car. Once on the road, her cell phone rang. She smiled upon seeing who it was.

"Hey you," Rory said happily.

"Hey, Ace, how's your day been going?" Logan asked cheerily. They'd established a system where they talked to each other at least twice a day. That wasn't counting times when Rory couldn't get to sleep and would call despite the fact that it was 5:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time. Logan didn't mind. He welcomed the early morning calls.

"Well, I just had lunch with Doyle and Paris," she explained.

"Oh, God," Logan sympathized. "So how are the lovebirds?"

"Logan, remember what I said. When Paris is happy, the whole world is happy –"

"I know, Ace. Deadwood, I've got it," he reminded her.

"Well anyways, they started getting into an argument about the penguin movie and some documentary about this horse named Cloud." Rory shook her head upon thinking back on the conversation. "It started to get pretty heated."

"Yeah? Like a fear-for-your-life kind of heated?"

"I thought they might to WWF right there in the middle of the restaurant," Rory decided.

"Yeah that and I could definitely see Paris pulling a Mike Tyson."

"Eww, Logan…eww. Bad mental pictures. Bad, bad mental pictures," Rory said in disgust, drawing laughter from Logan.

"Sorry, Ace. I just had to put that out there."

"You just had to," she said with a head shake. "So how has _your _day been going?"

"Same old, same old. You know, people kissing up to me just because of my last name. I swear, you're the only thing that keeps me sane, Ace. My secretary still shakes when she talks to me."

"Maybe she just thinks you're amazingly sexy," Rory suggested.

"Yes, did I forget to tell you? I'm leaving you for Doris, my 45-year-old secretary. Sorry."

Rory let out a long, sarcastic sigh. "Well, I can't say I didn't see it coming. Thanks for coming clean with me. It's greatly appreciated."

Logan laughed again. "What would I do without you, Ace?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

"But in all seriousness, I really do miss you," Logan confessed.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm leaving you for Billy-Bob, the 50-year-old gardener from across the street. We already have a wonderful life planned out together. Yeah, he says I'll make an amazing mother to his six illegitimate children. We'll be one big, happy family. Like the Brady Bunch, except Paris will be our Alice."

"Oh man, that sounds exciting. I can't wait to watch your sitcom."

"Fridays at seven – don't forget to tune in." Rory grinned as she continued to drive.

"So are you on your way back to work after your action-packed lunch?"

"Yup, it's back to the Gazette."

"Any chance of you running into my father?"

"Nope. Daddy dearest hasn't showed his face there in awhile."

"Good."

"Logan," Rory chastised.

"I can't help it, Rory. It still makes me angry what he did to you," Logan explained with a certain sharpness in his voice.

"I know, but he did help me get my job here, so he kind of made up for it."

"Yeah, except for the fact that you dropped out of Yale because of him."

"Logan, I did not drop out of Yale _because _of your father. There were other reasons," Rory tried to reason.

"Mm-hm," Logan mumbled, unconvinced. "Well he was at least one of them."

"Alright, I'll give you that much," Rory gave in.

"Thank you."

"And I hate to do this, but I just pulled into the parking lot at the Gazette, so I'm gonna have to let you go."

"Alright, I'll call you later."

"Okay, I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Bye." Rory flipped her phone closed and held it up to her heart for a moment before replacing it in her purse and heading back to work.

-

"Welcome, Ms. Gilmore." Emily's new maid politely greeted Rory that evening for Friday night dinner.

"Thank you," Rory replied as she entered the elder Gilmore mansion and gave her purse to the maid.

"Emily and Richard are in the living room with your mother. You can head right in; they're expecting you."

Rory walked into the living room where she was greeted warmly by her grandparents and her mother.

"Rory," Emily said happily. "Sit, sit, sit. Richard, get Rory something to drink."

"What'll it be, Rory?" Richard asked as he stood and made his way over to make her a drink.

"A glass of wine would be great, Grandpa."

"A glass of wine it is then," he said as he poured one for his granddaughter and handed it to her before sitting down beside Emily again.

"So, how's work at the Gazette?" Emily asked.

"It's good, it's busy. I'm learning a lot though," Rory explained.

"That's wonderful, Rory. The best way to learn is to get out there and do it for real," Richard said happily.

"You're most certainly right, Richard," Emily agreed with a nod. "So Rory, how is Logan doing?"

"Oh, Mom…no," Lorelai warned quietly.

"What?" Emily looked completely baffled. "Rory is his girlfriend, so she would certainly know how he's doing better than anyone else in the room." She returned her attention to Rory. "How does he like London? Mitchum's not working him too hard, I hope."

"It's okay, Mom," Rory said with a reassuring smile before looking back at her grandparents. "He likes London enough. It's hard work, but he's learning a lot and getting a feel for the business. I don't think Mitchum's being too hard on him."

"It must be hard with him being in London though. How long has he been away?" Richard prodded, causing Lorelai to glance away nervously, positive that Rory was going to burst into tears within seconds.

"Yes, it's hard…really hard," Rory added quietly. "It will be three weeks by Tuesday."

"And when are you going to see him next?" Emily asked, looking at Rory curiously.

"Umm…not sure. Thanksgiving maybe?"

"Thanksgiving?" Emily looked appalled. "That's practically four months away. That's much too long to be apart from someone you love."

"Agreed," Rory said with a nod.

-

"Ugh, no not that movie," Paris said in disgust, flipping the channel.

"I know what you mean. I hate scary movies, too," Rory said as she took a bag of popcorn out of the microwave.

"I'm such a wimp when it comes to scary movies." Paris continued flipping channels, trying to find something to watch.

Rory ripped open the bag and dumped the popcorn into a big bowl. "I only like watching them when I have Logan to…" _When I have Logan to cuddle with, _she finished mentally. _But I don't anymore. _The smile disappeared from her face, but she shook her head and forced another one back on. Grabbing the bowl, she made her way over to the couch where Paris was sitting, still flipping through channels.

"Jeez, you guys get over a thousand channels, you'd think there would be at least one thing to watch," she complained. "Oh my God! Cloud!"

"Paris, no," Rory stated firmly. "Keep going."

"But –"

"No."

After finally setting on a random TV show, Rory leaned back into the couch and sighed with contentment. "This is nice," she stated. "Just hanging out. Watchin' TV."

Paris nodded in agreement. "This _is_ nice. That we can just hang out together. No work to worry about, no school. Just relaxing."

"I can't believe we're going to be seniors next year," Rory said in amazement.

"I know. It feels like I was just a Freshman at Yale yesterday."

"Tell me about it." Rory munched on some popcorn as she thought about everything that had happened in the last few years. From Chilton through Yale. So much had happened. She shook her head looking back at everything. "We still have our senior year though. It's going to be amazing. I can just feel it."

-

"Harry, can you get those faxed by three o'clock?" Rory called out to Harry from her desk.

"I'm on it!" He called back.

"Thank you!" She yelled over the commotion just as her cell phone began ringing. Pulling it out, Rory flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Rory? It's your grandmother."

"Oh, hey Grandma."

"Are you at work?"

"Yup," Rory replied. "Working like a fiend."

"Oh, well I hope you don't work yourself too hard," Emily said with concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine, Grandma. It's work, it's hard, but I love it."

"Well, that's good," Emily replied.

"So, is there something you wanted?"

"Nothing in particular. Just calling to check in. To see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," Rory said, somewhat confused.

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Emily responded. "Well, that's good. I was just checking. Have a good afternoon, Rory. Goodbye."

"Bye." With that, Rory flipped her phone shut, still completely confused. She quickly dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?" Came Lorelai's voice.

"Mom?"

"Hey, Doll. What's shakin'?"

"I just got a really weird call from Grandma," Rory explained. She could practically see an annoyed frown coming onto her mother's face.

"What kind of call?"

"She just called to see what I was doing. I mean usually when she does that she'll at least come up with an excuse like to remind me about Friday night dinner, but this was a straight out 'Just calling to check in. How are you doing?' kind of call. It was weird. Is something wrong with Grandma?"

"Well, word on the street is she had a bit of a falling out with some of the DAR members," Lorelai explained as she typed on the computer at the Dragonfly.

"Oh no," Rory said dramatically. "What kind of a falling out and who did you hear this juicy piece of information from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Lorelai assured her.

"Try me," Rory dare her.

"Luke."

"What? Since when has Luke been a member of the DAR?" Rory asked in mock astonishment.

"Ha ha, you're so funny, Rory, ever think of being a stand-up comedian? I swear, you're just our own little Dane Cook aren't you?" Lorelai responded sarcastically as she handed a group of customers their keys and received some strange looks.

"Alright, I give, how does Luke know?"

"He heard it from Babette."

"But she's not in the DAR either."

"I know. That woman's magical, Rory. Magical, I swear! But after Luke told me I called my Dad and had it confirmed. She's obviously bored with her own life now that she doesn't have so many things going on and is trying to pry into yours."

"Wow Mom, you're quite the 007 with all of this top-secret information you've been obtaining."

"Please," Lorelai scoffed. "I wouldn't quite classify my mother's little quarrel with members of the Daughters of the American Revolution as "top-secret" information."

"Call it what you want it," Rory said with a shrug. "I've got to finish up here."

"Okay, call me later, Kid."

"Will do. Bye."

-

Rory locked her car before heading to the front door of her and Logan's apartment building. It was surprisingly cold for the beginning of July and she suddenly wished she'd brought a jacket. She was almost to her building when suddenly she heard her name. She stopped walking and paused for a moment. _Logan? _She whirled around, heart practically pounding out of her chest and found herself face to face with someone completely unexpected.

"Dean? What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"

"Rory," he said desperately as he stumbled towards her. Rory could tell that he was drunk. "I'm so glad I found you. I had to find you. I had to tell you." His words were slurred and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked eerie in the moonlight, and Rory suddenly felt uncomfortable. She took a step backwards.

"Dean, what do you want?" She asked clearly.

"You," he replied. "Rory, I need you. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about Lindsay, about dumping you at that party. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, sorry." He took another step closer and Rory realized how completely pathetic he looked. Dean actually had tears in his eyes.

Rory was so taken aback that she practically choked on her words. "I…I don't know what to say. This is certainly a surprise."

"Rory, come with me," he begged. "Please, I'll do anything. Please, please come with me. I need you."

"Dean, you don't look too good. Listen, why don't I call you a cab? It's really late."

"No!" He yelled, causing Rory to jump. "Rory, I need you to come with me! I need you to come with me right now! I love you, Rory! I love you."

"No, Dean, you don't love me. You're drunk. You need to get some sleep," Rory tried to reason with him. He wasn't listening though. He stumbled closer to her.

"No, I'm not drunk. And I don't need sleep, I need you." He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand. Rory quickly pushed him off out of disgust.

"Dean, I can't go with you. It's late and you're drunk. Please, just let me call you a cab." Rory went to pull her cell phone out, but Dean grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. "Ouch, Dean, get off of me." She tried to pull herself free, but even though Dean was drunk, he was still stronger than her. "Dean, get off of me! I can't go with you!"

"You have to, Rory!" He grabbed her other wrist and gripped it tightly. "I love you! I'm sorry!"

"If you love me so much then why are you hurting me?" Rory screamed at him. "Dean, let go of me!"

"Not until you agree to come with me. I love you, Rory!"

"Dean, I can't go with you. I don't love you!"

"Don't say that!" Dean yelled right into her face. She could smell the putrid scent of alcohol on his breath and had the sudden urge to wretch.

"Dean, let go of me!" Rory was to the point where she was pleading with him. She could feel the circulation in her wrists being cut off.

"I love you! You love me! We belong together, Rory! Do you remember the car? That car that I built for you?" He was still yelling at her. Rory turned her head away from him and did everything she could to pull away.

"Dean, I don't love you. I'm with someone else, now let go of me!"

"What!" Dean roared, throwing her back against the sidewalk. Rory landed hard on the cement and had the wind knocked out of her for a few seconds. "No, you can't do that! You love me! _Me_!"

Rory chose to seize the moment and pushed herself onto her feet. Dean came at her again, but she kicked him in the groin, causing him to double over in pain. Quickly, she grabbed her purse off of the sidewalk and turned around to run into her building. When she was finally safe inside, she finally breathed. The doorman looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Ms., are you alright?"

"F-Fine," she managed to mumble back before getting into the elevator. She looked down at her hands. Her palms were bloody where she had caught herself when Dean threw her back onto the sidewalk. They stung as well. Her wrists were bright red where he's gripped them. As soon as Rory was back in the apartment, she ran over to the sink and ran her hands under cold water, washing the blood away. She held paper towels to her palms until the bleeding stopped. They still stung, but at least they weren't bleeding so badly anymore. Looking at her wrists, she could see they were beginning to bruise

Rory walked over to the couch and sat down. Her heart was still pounding and her entire body continued to shake. All of a sudden she began to cry. What had just happened? What was Dean doing? He was obviously drunk, but what had possessed him to come back and hurt her like that? Where did he even get her address? He'd hurt her emotionally and physically. It hurts when someone from your past like that just shows up and declares their love for you while they're drunk. Especially the man she'd lost her virginity to. Rory for the cordless phone and quickly dialed Logan's number. It was 4:30 AM in London.

After four rings, Logan answered with a groggy, "Hello?"

"Logan?" She whispered, still crying.

"Ace, is that you?"

"Yes," she croaked before sobbing as a new wave of tears racked her body.

"What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly very awake.

"Dean," she whispered.

"Dean, your ex-boyfriend Dean? What about him?"

"I ran into him tonight," she managed between tears. "I-I-I was coming back to the building and he just came out of nowhere. He was so drunk and…" She had to stop as more tears came.

"Rory, what happened?" Logan asked, his voice dripping with worry.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "I just…he started saying that he loved me a-and he wanted me to come with him." Rory blew her nose loudly before continuing. "And then he just grabbed me and started screaming at me."

"What? Rory, did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"No," Rory cried.

"No he didn't hurt you or no you're not okay? Rory, talk to me. Tell me what happened."

"Logan, I'm sorry," she sobbed before hanging up the phone. She didn't have the strength to talk about it. The apartment phone rang seconds later, but Rory let it go to voicemail.

"Rory, it's Logan, pick up the phone. Rory I know you're there, pick up. Please. Rory please pick up the phone. Talk to me; you're scaring me. Rory, please pick up the phone!"

Rory wanted to pick up, she really did, but she just couldn't. He kept calling for about a half an hour, but then the calls stopped. She couldn't keep the tears from coming. She was so sick of crying. She hated crying, but there was nothing she could do to stop. Finally, a little while after Logan's phone calls stopped, she finally cried herself to sleep.

-

Please review. Constructive criticism is welcome.


	2. What the Hell Was I Glazing?

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome. I would have had this chapter out sooner, but I couldn't upload for some reason. Anyway, it's here now but before you read it I just want to clear up a few things. One: this is ROGAN. I could never see Rory with anyone else. Two: I'm not planning this to be one of those fics where Rory is crying in every other paragraph and Logan continually has to come in and save the day. Yes, there will be a little of that, but that's not the kind of girl that Rory is, and I don't intend to portray her that way. Logan is her knight in shining armor, and that will come across strongly in this story, but Rory's strong, too. Okay, now I'm done. Enjoy!**

-

Rory woke up to the sound of a key in the lock. It was so bright. She looked at the clock on the TV – 10:15 AM. The door flew open and there before her stood the figure of a very tired and worried Logan Huntzberger. "Logan!" She cried, rocketing off the couch and into his arms. He squeezed her tighter than she thought it was possible for a human being to squeeze someone and lifted her up off the ground. He kissed her on top of the head before placing her back on the ground. Rory didn't even give him a second to look at her before pulling his head towards hers and kissing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her as close as he could.

When they finally separated for air, Logan took a step back. "Let me look at you," he said breathlessly. Rory's face was tear-stained and her eyes were still puffy and red from crying last night. He shook his head and cupped her face in his hands, placing a kiss on her forehead before pulling her in for another hug.

Logan took her hands and led her towards the couch. Rory kissed him again and pushed him back on the couch. "Rory," he said, pulling away.

"What?" She asked, taken aback that he would turn that down.

"As much as I love this, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Logan asked, his brow creased with worry. Rory sighed and slipped off of his lap onto the adjacent couch cushion.

"Not really," she whispered.

"Ace," he said sternly, bringing her face up to look at him. "I just flew for seven hours across the Atlantic in the middle of the night for you. Please, tell me what happened." He took her hands and gave them a loving squeeze, but she winced and pulled them back. "What?" Logan's eyes fell on her wrists and they practically bugged out of his head. "Oh my God, Rory." He gently picked up her hands and turned them over in his own, tracing a finger over her black and blue wrists and her red, scratched-up palms. Rory could hear Logan's breathing waver out of anger.

"I'll kill him," he snarled, looking up at Rory with fire in his eyes. He moved to get up, but stopped when Rory grabbed his arm.

"Logan, wait! Please, just sit with me. Let me tell you what happened," Rory said, pulling him back down beside her.

"Alright," Logan agreed with a nod. He pulled Rory onto his lap so that her back was resting against the arm of the couch and her legs were draped over his own. Logan wrapped his arms protectively around her waist.

"Okay," Rory began, taking a deep breath. "I stayed at work late last night and didn't get back until about eleven o'clock. I started walking towards the building when I ran into Dean. He was completely drunk and he just started going on about how he needed me, how sorry he was, I had to go with him, a-and how much he loved me. I kept trying to reason with him, telling him that he was drunk. I offered to call him a cab, I told him he didn't love me; that it was late and he needed to go home." Rory could feel a knot forming in her throat, but gulped it back down. "Then he started to get angry and he screamed at me. That's when he grabbed my wrists." She lifted her wrists up to show Logan. "I kept begging him to let go, but he just squeezed harder and started shaking me. I asked him why he was hurting me if he loved me so much." Rory wiped away tears that were threatening to fall. It was hard for her to talk about Dean like this. "I told him I didn't love him and I was with someone else." Rory looked into Logan's eyes for the first time since she started telling her story. "Then he just threw me back on the sidewalk and I kicked him and ran."

"Ace," Logan whispered gently, reaching up to wipe her tears away. "It's okay. I'm here now." Rory nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest. Logan rested his head on top of hers and sighed, anger boiling up inside of him. "I'm so sorry, Rory."

Rory lifted her head up to look him in the eyes. "Why? It's not your fault."

"Still, I'm your boyfriend, I'm not supposed to let this kind of thing happen," he tried to explain.

"Logan, you're an amazing boyfriend and I love you, but you're not Superman. You can't cross the Atlantic faster than a speeding bullet to come to my rescue," Rory joked, cracking a smile.

"Rory, what am I doing?" He asked sincerely, gazing into her eyes.

"What do you –"

"What the hell am I doing in London? I don't belong in London, I belong here, with you."

"But the paper."

"What about the paper? There's nothing I can do in London that I can't do here in the states. I don't know what my father's problem is. I swear Ace, I'm never going to let anything like this happen again."

"But Logan –"

"No buts, Ace. I'm sick of London, I'm sick of being away from you. I hate it over there. My life is here and my father's just going to have to deal with that." He let out a breath of relief after his little tirade.

"And you really think your father is just going to 'deal with it'?" Rory questioned.

"No, probably not. I'll have to wear him down, but hey as long as I'm working on that paper he's at least somewhat happy," Logan explained.

"This is true, but you know he's not going to give up on London easily or quickly."

"I know," he admitted. "I'll probably have to go back to London for awhile still, but it's worth a try."

"Agreed."

"Here, let me see your hands." Rory held them up for inspection.

"Did you clean all this up?"

"I washed them," she said proudly.

"With what?"

"Water."

"And?"

"Water."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Logan said with a sigh. He quickly scooped Rory up, taking pleasure in the little squeal of protest she emitted.

"Logan, what are you doing!"

He carried her over to the sink and sat her down on top of the counter next to it. "We have to clean your hands or else they'll get infected," he explained, taking one of her hands and running warm water over her palm, then applying soap.

"Ouch, it stings," Rory complained immaturely.

"I'm sorry, Ace," he sympathized. "But it's either this or…we have to amputate."

"What is this, a Civil War hospital?"

Logan grinned. "I'm sorry, I just don't want your hands to get infected."

"Alright, Dr. Carter," Rory referenced E.R. with a sigh. "Do what you must. My mother will donate blood if need be."

"Or, hey, we could just use coffee instead," Logan suggested as he dried her hands off.

"That would probably work," Rory agreed with a nod.

"You're done," Logan announced.

"So do you think I'll make it?" Rory gazed at him with mock concern.

Logan simply smiled and instead of answering pulled her in for a kiss. She scooted forward on the counter to get closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled away after a minute and went on to place sweet, tender kisses down her neck, stopping at her collar bone to rest his head on her shoulder. Rory let out a sigh as she turned to kiss his forehead. "I missed you, Ace," Logan admitted seriously; tightening his grip around her waist.

"I'm glad you're here," Rory whispered, running her hands up and down his back.

"Come on," Logan said quickly, lifting her up and placing her feet firmly on the ground before grabbing her hand and leading her deeper into their apartment.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked with a giggle.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Logan replied, stopping at the foot of their bed and turning around so that Rory walked right into his arms. He pulled her to him again and crashed his lips into hers. Rory turned around so that her back was to the bed, and broke their kiss after another minute.

She plopped herself down and scooted backwards until she was lying back against the pillows. Logan put his hands in his pockets and smirked at her. "Coming, Huntzberger?" Rory asked, raising one eyebrow coyly.

"You think I'm that easy?" He asked with a chuckle, removing his hands from his pockets to cross them in front of his chest.

Rory shrugged and turned to look out the window before returning her gaze to him. "Yes."

"Alright, I'm that easy," Logan agreed, following Rory onto the bed and lying down next to her. Rory wasted no time in rolling on top of him to resume kissing him. It grew heavily passionate quickly. Rory soon tired at the excessive amounts of clothing between them and began to tug at his shirt. Oh yes, she had definitely missed this.

-

"Wow," Rory said a while later. Her head was resting on Logan's chest as he held her safely in his arms. She looked up at him and he smiled, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. Rory sighed and snuggled closer to him. Even though it was July, suddenly every part of her body that wasn't touching him grew cold.

"You alright down there?" Logan asked with a teasing nudge, causing Rory to look up at him lovingly.

"Just making up for all of the lonely nights." At that comment, Logan's signature smirk disappeared and he pulled Rory up so that he could look her in the eyes. "What?" She smiled, but it disappeared as Logan let out a long sigh and looked away. "Logan, what's the matter?"

"I hate this," he said firmly.

"What? I _love _this," Rory said playfully.

"You know what I mean."

Rory held a hand out and stroked his cheek. Logan flashed his eyes over to hers. "Yes, I know what you mean," Rory admitted. "But that's why we have to make the best of moments like these." She leaned in for a kiss, and Logan responded more fervently than she had expected. She smiled when they pulled apart, and Logan placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I hate hurting you like this though," he said in frustration, twirling a lock of her brown hair around his index finger.

"You're not hurting me," she assured him.

"Rory, I've heard you cry on the phone enough times to prove otherwise," Logan said softly, not tearing his eyes away from hers.

"That's not your fault." She shook her head and grabbed the hand that had previously playing with her hair, intertwining her fingers with his. "You're in London because it's where you need to be, not because it's where you want to be. You have to be there for the family business."

Logan kissed her once again, letting her know just how much he appreciated and needed her cooperation and support. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For understanding," Logan explained, pressing his forehead against Rory's.

She smiled and kissed him before settling back down on his chest. "So when do you go back?"

Logan rubbed his eyes at the thought. "I think I can buy myself at least two days. I'll call my secretary later and go over the details."

"Wait, you did tell people you were leaving, right? I don't want you to go all Winnie Foster on me. I get shot, I die, there's no twenty-one forever here, Mister."

Logan chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I told people I was leaving, left all of my work in safe hands and rescheduled my meetings. I'm just going to call Doris to check in and make sure everything's okay."

"She won't be upset?"

"Why would she?" Logan looked quizzical.

"Well you two were going to elope. She won't be upset that you changed your mind?" Rory faked concern and furrowed her brow.

Logan grinned, finally catching on. "Well as much as I hated to leave Doris, I had to get back to the most amazing girl in the whole world."

Rory blushed. "Oh, and who might that be?"

"Well," Logan began, gently running his finger up and down her forearm, "She's beautiful, intelligent, witty, addicted to caffeine, great sense of humor…" His words turned to whispers as he inched closer to Rory.

"You forgot: incredibly sexy, great in bed…" Rory added, smiling before her lips met Logan's. She kissed him urgently, truly making up for those long, lonely nights. Logan rolled on top of her to deepen the kiss, only breaking apart a minute later for air. He gazed adoringly down at her and smiled.

"I love you so much, Rory."

In response, she quickly pulled him back down to her, completely content as her lips danced with his.

-

Rory woke up to the most amazing thing in the world. The essence of her being. Smiling, she opened her eyes and sat up to see Logan walking towards her carrying a steaming mug of said wonderful thing. "Mmm, coffee," Rory said, reaching out her arms.

"Nope, scotch," Logan joked with a shake of his head. He placed the mug into her hands and sat down next to her, placing a kiss on her temple.

"Thank you." Rory took three giant gulps and closed her eyes, savoring it. "Hmm, what time is it?" She asked, placing her mug on the nightstand.

"Six o'clock at night."

"What?" Rory looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?" He nodded. "Oh no, I was supposed to be at the Gazette by one o'clock."

"It's alright, I called and told them you were sick," Logan assured her.

"Aww, you played hooky for me? I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Oh and here I thought you would be worth giving up Doris." Rory smiled and quickly pushed him down onto the bed, silencing him with a kiss. The phone rang a moment later, and Logan sat up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, R – wait, who is this?" Asked an accusatory female voice.

"Who the hell is this?"

"Listen, bucko, I'm skilled in the art of Krav Maga! I will kick your ass if you –"

Logan practically threw the phone at Rory. "It's Paris."

Rory giggled and picked up the cordless phone. "Hey, Paris."

"Rory, who was that?"

"That was Logan," she explained, getting off the bed and grabbing her coffee.

"What? Logan's in London."

"He uh…he came to visit me," Rory supplied quickly, taking another sip of coffee.

"Oh," Paris said, surprised. "Well, good for you."

"Thanks."

"Listen, did I leave a black binder at your apartment?"

"A black binder?" Rory looked around, but didn't see anything. She held the phone up to her shoulder, and looked at Logan. "Have you seen a black binder?"

Logan stopped buttoning up his shirt and looked around, then back at Rory and shook his head.

Rory held the phone back up to her ear. "Nope, haven't seen it."

"Oh, well if you find it, call me. I really need it."

"Will do."

"Okay, say 'hi' to Logan for me."

Rory was a bit taken aback and hesitated before answering. "Okay, I will. Bye." She pressed the 'end' button and placed the phone on the kitchen counter. "Paris says 'hi'." Logan grunted, causing Rory to smile. "I'm just as surprised as you are."

Logan finished getting dressed and walked over to Rory, wrapping his arms around her waste. "I was thinking we could order in for dinner and watch movies."

"Oh, I love movies. I'm in as long as I get to choose."

He sighed in mock agitation. "Fine, you can decide," he agreed, stealing a kiss.

"I love wearing the pants in this relationship."

"Literally."

"Excuse me?"

"Logan looked down at her legs. You're wearing my sweatpants."

Rory followed his gaze and immediately blushed. "Oh, yeah, I guess I am."

Logan laughed and leaned in to kiss her again. "It's okay, they look better on you anyway."

-

Rory spent the next few days either at work or Logan's arms. It felt amazing to be with him again, but two days passed like two minutes, and sooner than either would have liked, London was calling. Rory determined that she would not cry. She had just spent two whole days with him, and crying wouldn't get either of them anywhere. She did not go with him to the airport, mostly for the same reasons as before.

She walked into the apartment with a sigh. Dropping all of her bags down, Rory walked over to the couch and took off her shoes. It was Friday evening, and she had to be at her grandparents' in a little less than two hours. It had been a stressful day at work. Her computer crashed, ergo losing half of her almost completely finished article, the coffee machine broke and she was elected to walk three blocks each way to Starbucks and get everyone their daily dose of caffeine. And, her shoes were brand new, so walking six blocks did not go over well with her feet, which were now sore and blistery.

"Ouch," Rory moaned, massaging her left foot. With another sigh, she reluctantly got up to get a shower and change. This would be a long night.

-

"Rory!" Emily exclaimed cheerfully as her granddaughter sat down on the loveseat in the living room. "Have a seat, what would you like to drink?"

"Uh, just a club soda would be fine, Grandma."

"Did you hear that, Richard?"

"Yes I did, one club soda coming up," Richard announced, bringing Rory her drink before sitting back down next to Emily. "So Rory, how are things at the Gazette?"

"Things are going well, Grandpa. Except for today, oh my God."

"What happened today?" Lorelai questioned, taking a sip of her martini.

Rory went on to tell them about the events of her terrible day. Her computer, the coffee, her feet hurting, and ending with the fact that she'd been crabby ever since Logan left again.

"Wait, what, Logan was here?" Emily asked loudly.

"Oh yeah, I thought I told you Grandma?"

"You most certainly did not," Emily replied tersely.

"Oh, well, he came to visit me," Rory explained, causing her mother to eye her suspiciously. While Rory had told Lorelai the whole thing, she was not in the mood to be interrogated by her grandmother about past relationships. Emily would probably call the police.

"Oh, how romantic," Emily said dreamily. "Was it a surprise?"

"Kind of," Rory replied, trying to change the subject.

"A fine young man, that Logan Huntzberger," Richard said with approval. "We must have him over for dinner again the next time he's here."

"I'll go get my calendar," Emily agreed, standing up.

"Grandma, wait!" Rory called, causing Emily to stop and turn back to her. "It can wait, really. I don't even know when he's going to be back. It could be awhile. I'll tell him your idea though, I'm sure he'd be happy to join us."

"Alright," Emily said, resignedly sitting back down.

"Lorelai, you've been rather quiet this evening," Richard observed, getting up to freshen his drink.

"Oh, just not much to say," she admitted.

"How's everything back in Stars Hollow?" Rory asked, sipping her club soda.

"Well," Lorelai began, "Miss Patty's dance class is putting on another concert soon."

"Oh, can I come?" Rory asked excitedly. Miss Patty's dance concerts were something one could never turn down.

"Of course," Lorelai assured her, causing Rory to grin. "The Dragonfly is good. Oh, Sookie and Jackson are thinking of taking the kids on vacation."

"Oh, speaking of vacation," Emily chimed in, causing Rory and Lorelai to look up at her. "Richard, shall we tell them?"

"Why don't you do the honors, Emily?" He said proudly, sitting back down again.

"Well," she started, looking from at Lorelai and Rory in turn. "You know how Logan's parents have that beautiful acreage in Martha's Vineyard?" Rory nodded. "Well, your grandfather and I have just bought an estate in Cape Cod!"

"Cool!" Rory said happily.

"Isn't it just? Richard, tell them about the Cape," Emily insisted, smiling giddily.

"Well, it's magnificent. A large beach house, right on the water. We've got seven acres. And the house is absolutely perfect. The kitchen is being re-modeled, but it should be done soon."

"And the beach is just beautiful," Emily chimed in. "Nice, white sand, crystal water. Oh, the two of you will just love it. And Rory, you've never been to Cape Cod."

"Can't say I have."

"Well," Richard began decidedly. "The kitchen will be done in a little over a week, so your grandmother and I were thinking we could take a long weekend and drive up there. Just the four of us."

Lorelai looked over at Rory nervously. Rory gave her a reassuring smile. "That would be great, Grandma and Grandpa. I could use a vacation."

"As could we all," Emily agreed cheerily. "Lorelai?"

"Sounds great, Mom," she said with a tense smile. "I'll just have to arrange some things at the Inn."

"Wonderful, just wonderful." Emily sat back and smiled.

-

"Ugh," Lorelai said, once the front door was closed behind them. She and Rory walked over to their cars.

"What are you, a Neandertal?" Rory asked.

"Hey, do not mock my ancestry," Lorelai said in fake offense. "But we have to spend a long weekend locked in a house with my parents. Have you thought about the consequences of this?"

"Come on, Mom, it's not going to be that bad," Rory reassured her.

"Um yes, yes it will be that bad. I spent sixteen years locked up in a house with them and swore to myself that I would never do it again."

"You're making yourself sound like a Disney princess. It's not going to be that bad, just calm down."

"You know what this is right?" Lorelai questioned.

"A vacation?"

"No, this is a ploy." Lorelai pointed an accusatory finger at her daughter.

"A ploy?"

"Yes, a ploy to get you to Cape Cod!"

"But we're all going to Cape Cod," Rory said obliviously.

"Don't you remember the last time you and Logan had dinner here?"

"Well, I've tried to forget about it…" Rory admitted.

"This is a ploy to get you up to Cape Cod, so you can see how _beautiful _it is, how _perfect _it is, how great it would be for a wedding. Face it, Kid, then want little Logans and Rories running all around their Cape Cod 'estate' as soon as possible."

"Mom!" Rory said in disgust. "They do not, they're just taking us on a nice vacation. Logan and I are not getting married anytime soon, so take a chill pill, Martha Stuart."

"Hey, you can just see for yourself, and did you just say that you and Logan are getting married?"

"What, no, we're not getting married, what is with you tonight, Mom?"

"Sorry, I'm just stressed, that's all."

"Well, go home and get some rest."

"Yeah, rest sounds good."

"And no watching the Food Network, you know how Emeril gets to you."

"But –"

"No buts, Mom. Last time you watched the Food Network when you were stressed, I woke up to you screaming "Bam!" at 2:00 in the morning," Rory explained.

"I was making mango-glazed pork thank you very much," Lorelai said defensively.

"Mom, since when have we ever kept pork in the house?"

"Oh my God. You're right, what the hell was I glazing?"

"I don't think we want to know," Rory said with a head shake.

"Okay, well good night."

"Good night, Martha."

-

Rory lugged her suitcase out of the trunk as Emily walked out of the house followed by a butler. "Rory!" She called, rushing over to hug her granddaughter. "How was the drive? I hope you didn't hit any traffic."

"Oh no, it was fine. No traffic," Rory replied, looking around at the house and its surroundings.

"Oh, excellent. Listen, I have to go back inside and finish setting some things up. Mark here will assist you with your baggage, and feel free to meander around a bit. Lunch should be ready in about half an hour."

"Okay, Grandma, thanks." With that, Emily returned inside, leaving Rory standing next to her car with Mark. Rory looked around again, listening to the gulls and the sound of the waves, breathing in the fresh, salty air. A moment later her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey there, stranger."

Rory smiled at the sound of Logan's voice, all the while trying to sling a bag over her shoulder and balance her phone between her ear and other shoulder. "How have you been?"

"Fine, and you?"

"Good – oh, crap," Rory groaned as she accidentally dropped the bag. "Mark, can you get this one, too?"

"Who's Mark?"

"My Grandparents' butler," Rory replied. "Hang on one second. Mark, can you wait here for a minute? I'll be right back." Mark nodded and a moment later, Rory turned around and held the phone back up to her ear. "Okay I'm back."

"Where are you?" He asked amusedly.

"Cape Cod."

"What? What are you doing in Cape Cod?"

"I thought I told you?"

"Nope."

"Oh," she said with a sigh. "Well, my grandparents bought a house on the shore, so they invited me and my mom up for a long weekend."

"Your mom willingly went to spend more time with your grandparents?"

"Well, it took some persuading, but yes," Rory admitted. "And you make it sound like torture. It'll be fun. Besides, I need a break from the Gazette and New Haven in general." She closed her trunk, and walked closer to the front of the house. It was pretty impressive.

"Sorry, it's just that your grandparents can be pretty intense – especially Emily," Logan explained.

"Yeah, my mom likes to refer to her as Adolf sometimes."

"Hmm, I can see the resemblance."

"Logan!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll no longer compare your grandmother to evil dictators."

"Thank you."

"So how's the Cape?"

"Well," Rory said, walking around the house and into the back yard, "It's pretty." She looked out at the ocean and almost gasped. "Wow, it's _really _pretty."

"Well, I hope you have fun this weekend. And I hope your grandparents don't drive you crazy."

"You and me both," she replied, turning around to walk back to the driveway. "I should probably get back to Mark. I kind of left him in the middle of the driveway."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, I should get back to work. Say 'hi' to Mark for me."

"Oh, I will. Bye, I love you."

"Right back at ya."

Rory grinned as she walked back toward the driveway, but stopped when she got there. What the? Her bags were sitting right by her car where she had left them, but that wasn't the problem. Where did the butler go? "Umm…Mark?"

-

Thanks for reading. Please review!


	3. Ain't No River Wide Enough

**A/N: Yay, chapter three! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I'm really excited about it. I got to throw in lots of witty banter and exciting news all in one chapter! I love writing Lorelai, it's so much fun. I also love writing Rory and Logan's conversations - those are always amusing. Oh, I can't wait for you guys to read this chapter and tell me what you think! Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing, but I must say I think it's interesting that more people have this story on alert than the amount of reviews I have. Come on people, it takes like two minutes. That's all I'm going to say about that, though. Oh, and a little note, "Chas" is actually pronounced "Chaz". I think most of you would have figured that out, but you never know. Okay, now go read and review!**

**-**

"Mom!"

"Offspring!"

Rory hurried over to Lorelai as she got out of her Jeep and they embraced. "Wow," Lorelai admired after they parted. "This house is pretty snazzy."

"The inside's not half bad either," Rory said with a nod.

"This reminds me of that movie…you know, the one where they go to that beach house?" Lorelai babbled, racking her brain.

Rory looked at her strangely. "Mom, for once I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Ah, never mind. I'll think of it later." Lorelai began unloading her bags, much to Rory's astonishment.

"Mom, we're here for four days," Rory exclaimed. "How on earth did you manage to bring three suitcases for four days?"

Lorelai looked down at her luggage, then up to Rory. "Well this one," she said, kicking a light blue suitcase, "Is for muh shoes."

"Alright, that's understandable, but you really need two more suitcases for four days' worth of clothing?" Rory questioned, still stunned.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. How many suitcases did _you_ bring?"

"One."

"What? Are you _serious_?" Lorelai looked at her daughter as if she had eighteen heads. "Please tell me it was a Halloweentownesque suitcase."

"Nope, American Tourister," Rory confirmed.

"You, child, are seriously deranged," Lorelai said sadly. "Now, is there a pack mule or something around here?" She stood on her tip toes and looked around the driveway.

"We're fresh out of pack mules, but will you take a Mark?"

"A Mark?"

-

"This is ridiculous," Emily complained the next day as she stared out the window. "It's been raining since this morning, ruining a completely good day. I had excellent plans for today. A picnic outside. All we could get in today was that wine-tasting."

"Oh, I thought the wine-tasting was fun," Rory assured her with a smile.

"Suck-up," Lorelai mumbled.

"Thank you, Rory," Emily said distractedly. "But our picnic outside was ruined. I was planning on spending the evening on the beach."

"We can do that tomorrow, Mom," Lorelai suggested, plopping down on the couch in the living room and glancing around. The living room had a very "beachy" feel to it. The floor was hard-wood and the walls were a white-wash with a shell border. Periwinkle blue draperies adorned the large windows, and the furniture was either white or blue to match the drapes.

"Grandma, I love this house," Rory said excitedly. "It's beautiful." The mansion stood about one hundred and fifty feet from the water, upon a small hill. The sand turned to grass about fifty feet from the water's edge. A ramp ran from the large back porch down to the beach. The house itself was composed of hazy blue siding material, with white bordering every window and door. It sat above the circular cobblestone driveway, so that one had to ascend about ten or fifteen steps to get to the front door. All in all it was magnificent, and very Emily Gilmore-esque.

"I called the weather channel before we left and they specifically said the weather was supposed to be beautiful this weekend," Emily continued.

"Whoa, wait a second," Lorelai said with a pause. "You _called _the weather channel?"

"Yes, and a whole lot of good that did. They're nothing but a bunch of liars," she complained, sinking down in a chair across from Rory and Lorelai.

"You and Louis Black both, Mom," Lorelai commented with a sigh.

"Excuse me?"

"Just go with it, Grandma," Rory assured her.

"Hey, where's Dad?" Lorelai asked, sitting up a little and looking around.

"He had to make a phone call and check on things back at home," Emily explained. "Would you two like something to drink?"

"Coffee!" They exclaimed in unison, grinning widely at each other.

"Oh honestly." Emily was obviously not amused in the slightest.

"Lesta!" Emily yelled. "Lesta, get in here now!"

"Lesta?" Rory asked with a smirk.

"Yes, she's from Lithuania." A moment later Lesta entered the room and stood at attention with her hands behind her back. Lorelai and Rory took in her strict composure. Her face held no emotion as she stared straight in front of her.

"Lesta, the girls would like some coffee. And I'll have a cup of hot tea."

"Yes, Mrs. Gilmore," Lesta replied with a strong accent, pronouncing 'Gilmore' as 'Geelmur' which Lorelai and Rory both found incredibly amusing. Lorelai almost snorted.

"Lorelai, making fun of people that are doing their best to learn the English language is incredibly immature. Have you ever tried to learn another language?" Emily didn't even give Lorelai a change to reply before continuing. "No, you haven't."

"Actually, Mom, I secretly study Farsi at night under the covers, and I'm all over that language in Africa where they only speak in clicks," Lorelai responded sarcastically.

"Dear God, there's a language where people speak in clicks?" Emily asked, shocked.

"Yeah, actually I think there is," Rory added.

Lorelai went on to start making clicking noises with her tongue, but stopped upon receiving a death stare from Emily.

"I did not ask for a display," Emily assured her. She was about to say something else when all of a sudden the lights flickered and went out, leaving them all in complete darkness. All three of them jumped slightly.

"Mom, did you forget to pay the electric bill again?"

"Lorelai," Emily said in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Braddock, I didn't mean to steal the sausage!" She exclaimed dramatically.

Rory giggled at the referenceand was about to chime in when a hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to scream. In a chain reaction, Lorelai and Emily screamed as well.

"Rory, Rory! It's your grandfather, calm down. Honestly, the three of you are acting like I'm an axe murderer," Richard insisted.

"Put on a hockey mask and we'll call you Jason. Hey, there's no Crystal Lake around here is there?" Lorelai said, holding a hand over her heart to steady it.

"Oh, Richard," Emily said breathlessly. "The power went out."

"Yes, Emily, I've noticed. And the phone lines are down as well," He explained, taking a seat in a chair next to his wife.

"Lesta, you can forget our drinks!" Emily called towards the kitchen.

Lesta quickly scrambled out of the kitchen and stood before them at attention once again. "Yes, Mrs. Geelmur," she said quickly, before turning around and making her way back into the kitchen.

"My, she does have a strange pronunciation of our last name, doesn't she?" Emily observed with a frown. "Well, she's fired."

"I think Lesta is going to kill us all in our sleep," Lorelai announced seriously.

"Mom! Lesta isn't going to kill us all our sleep. She's from Lithuania, not Transylvania," Rory said with a small smirk on her face.

"Don't worry, Rory, I can take her."

"Oh, really?" Emily asked with raised eyebrows, even though no one could see them.

"Yup, just give me a stake and call my Buffy." Lorelai nodded along with her statement.

"Funny, Luke doesn't look like a soulful vampire," Rory observed with amusement.

"Hush you," Lorelai chided, finally sitting back on the couch and sighing. An awkward silence filled the air. Suddenly there was a ringing noise, causing Emily, Rory, and Lorelai to scream again. Their screams died out once they all realized the ringing was coming from Rory's cell phone.

Rory quickly flipped it open and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, her heart still pounding.

"Hey, Ace."

Rory sighed in relief and relaxed back down into the couch. "Oh, Logan, it's just you."

"No, it's Pedro, your secret Latin lover," he replied dryly.

Rory giggled. "Pedro, I thought I told you not to call me here!" This drew quizzical looks from her grandparents, and Rory quickly realized that had not been the best thing to say with them in the room. "Umm, hang on a second, Logan," she whispered, before holding the phone up to her shoulder. "I'm going to take this in the hall." With that, she stood up and managed to shuffle her way into the dark hallway. Out of habit, she reached for the light switch, but nothing happened, she suddenly remembered.

"Whew," she breathed, holding the phone up to her ear again. "I'm back."

"Everything okay over there?"

"Well, sort of. You see, it's raining and the power went out so my Grandma's kind of angry because she had this whole picnic planned on the beach. And so now we're all stuck here in the dark and my mom's annoying grandma by making Jimmy Braddock jokes. Oh, and their maid, Lesta, is totally creepy. I think she is going to kill us in our sleep," Rory babbled on.

There was a pause on the other line before Logan finally responded. "What?"

"I was babbling, wasn't I?"

"Just a little bit."

Rory sighed before continuing. "Well, all in all, this weekend isn't shaping up to be everything it was supposed to. I mean, it's beautiful here and all, but it really _is _turning into me and my mom locked in a house with my grandparents. And it's creepy because this place is _huge _and now there's no power. I feel like I'm going to turn a corner and have Leather Face jump out at me."

Logan chuckled on the other line. "I think Adolf could take a chain saw murderer any day," he replied, trying to cheer Rory up.

"Logan," she half-heartedly chastised, even though it brought a smile to her face. Logan could always bring a smile to her face no matter what. That was only one of the many reasons that she loved him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but you have to admit, it's true."

"I will admit nothing," Rory said firmly.

"Your choice," was the reply.

"Free country."

"Amen."

Suddenly there was a crash in the kitchen, and Rory jumped. She could hear Lorelai and Emily scream in the other room. "Oh my God, what was that?" Logan asked, amusement and slight concern etched into his voice.

"I don't know," Rory whispered fearfully. "Should I go look? This is so creepy, I can barely see two feet in front of me."

"Rory!" Emily cried. "Rory, are you alright!"

"I'm fine, Grandma," Rory replied, slowly making her way back into the living room as not to trip over anything or run into a wall. Upon entering the living room, she hurried back over to the couch and sat down beside her mother again. "Where's Grandpa?"

"He went into the kitchen. I think Lesta dropped a plate," Emily explained.

"Lesta, the one who's going to kill you in your sleep?" Logan asked, obviously overhearing what Emily had said.

"Yes," Rory confirmed absentmindedly.

"So are you alright, Ace? Need me to sent a SWAT team out there to check on you guys?"

"Can you do that?" Rory asked, somewhat desperate.

"I…guess so?" Logan had been expecting her to take it as a joke.

"Oh, joke, kidding, ha ha, funny," Rory said in dry amusement. "No SWAT team is needed, thanks."

Logan laughed, glad that she had finally calmed down a bit. "Okay, I'm gonna let you go. Call me if you need anything or if Lesta pulls a Freddy."

"I'll be sure to do that." Rory grinned, pulling her feet up onto the couch. "Bye."

"Bye."

Rory flipped her phone shut and replaced it into her pocket just as Richard came out of the kitchen. "Lesta dropped a platter, nothing to worry about," he confirmed, taking a seat across from Rory.

"Well, that's coming out of her paycheck," Emily added snidely.

Another silence filled the room for a minute as everyone tried to calm down after the recent excitement. Lorelai cleared her throat, adding to the awkwardness. "So," she began eerily. "Have you guys heard about that videotape?"

-

"Ah," Rory sighed, dropping her suitcase on the floor and heading over to the couch. "Home sweet home." She plopped down and leaned back, closing her eyes in contentment. It had been a hectic weekend. The power wasn't turned back on until the next morning and Emily had been somewhat sulky for the rest of the weekend. They did get their picnic on the beach however, and Rory and Lorelai went horseback riding on Monday morning. But, most importantly, Lesta did not kill anyone in their sleep.

It was now Monday night and Rory was just happy to be back in New Haven. She hadn't expected to miss it, but she did. She got stuck in traffic on the way back, though, and ergo didn't make it to New Haven until about 9:00. It was now 9:30 and she was completely exhausted. Much to her dismay, Lorelai had been right, and Emily did bring up that their estate would be beautiful for a wedding. She didn't mention any names, but Rory knew.

Rory slowly pulled off her shoes and threw them towards the bedroom, keeping her eyes closed the entire time. Suddenly the phone rang, and Rory had to open her eyes to find it. Upon digging behind the couch cushion, she finally managed to get her fingers around the cordless and pull it out. "Mmm?" She mumbled into the telephone.

"Well hello to you, too," came Lane's voice.

"Lane!" Rory said excitedly, quickly sitting up on the couch. "How are you? How's Zach, how's Stars Hollow?"

"I'm good, Zach's good, Stars Hollow is good," Lane replied with a smile. "I'm sorry about calling late, but I really wanted to talk to you."

"That's fine," Rory assured her. "As my best friend, I grant you permission to call me at any hour you please."

"I'm honored. So how are you? How's Logan, how's New Haven; the Gazette?"

"I'm fine, Logan's fine, New Haven's fine, and the Gazette is fine," Rory responded in one breath.

"How does Logan like London?"

"Eh, he likes it okay. He's not so sure about staying there for a year though. He wants to come back earlier," Rory explained, getting up to make herself a cup of coffee.

"He misses you too much, huh?" Lane prodded romantically.

Rory smiled at the thought. "Well, I miss him, too."

There was a comfortable silence as Rory put in the coffee filter and began scooping grounds before Lane spoke again. "So tell me all about Cape Cod."

"Oh," Rory began, forgetting that she hadn't talked to Lane since she'd left for the Cape. "It's beautiful; my grandparents' house is so pretty. And it's right on the beach – I got to go horseback riding with my mom which was really fun. I have to take you up there some time, I know you'd like it. We could make it a girls' weekend or something."

"That would be so much fun!" Lane agreed excitedly. "I could get away from my hubby for a few days."

Rory laughed. "Married for less than a year and you're already sick of him, huh?"

"No, I could never be sick of Zach," Lane assured her goofily. "But absence does make the heart grow fonder."

"Tell me about it," Rory agreed whole-heartedly as she poured herself a mug of steaming coffee.

"Yeah, I guess no one would understand that as well as you," Lane suggested sympathetically.

"Hey, it's okay. Logan and I are okay. And we will continue to be okay because I love him. I _love _him and he loves me and nothing will ever change that, not even an ocean. Ain't no river wide enough, right?"

"Rory!" Lane gasped. "That was beautiful. And yes, I agree completely." She sighed contentedly. "So you and Logan, huh?"

Rory smiled as she sat back down on the couch and looked around their apartment. "Yup, me and Logan."

-

"Harry, I asked for those files twenty minutes ago!" Rory shouted out across the newsroom.

"Five more minutes, Gilmore!"

"Make it four and you get the million-dollar suitcase deal!"

"Four minutes it is!"

"Thank you!"

"Shut up!" Someone else shouted.

"Oops," Rory mumbled to herself as she went back to typing her article. Frowning, she picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Droned a voice on the other line.

"If I call someone "cold-hearted and arrogant" is that slander?"

"Is that really the reason you're calling me? Because if it is I'm hanging up," Logan replied, positioning the phone between his ear and shoulder as he flipped through the files in front of him and high-lighted certain sentences.

"Okay, you caught me. I just wanted to hear your voice and I felt corny calling you for the second time in two hours," Rory admitted.

"Ace," he chuckled, "You never need an excuse to call me."

"Yeah, but I feel bad interrupting you at work."

"Please. If there's one thing you don't have to feel bad about, it's interrupting me at work."

"Are you high-lighting while you're on the phone with me?" Rory asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"No," Logan lied.

"Yes, you are you little liar," Rory said in amusement.

"I'm busted," Logan replied, still trying to concentrate on his paperwork and Rory at the same time.

"Fine, but if you can high-light, I can type," Rory reasoned, sitting up in her chair to continue her article.

"By all means," Logan urged. A few moments of silence followed as they both went back to work.

"You do realize that we're wasting away our phone bill while we both sit here in silence on the phone and do our work," Rory mentioned casually as she went over her notes.

"So? Besides, I love listening to you type," Logan commented sarcastically. "It's incredibly sexy."

"You are so full of crap that it's coming out of your ears, Huntzberger," Rory replied dryly.

"Thank you so much for those incredible visuals that will haunt me for the rest of the day," Logan replied with a laugh. "So what are you writing?"

"An article."

"No way, really?" He asked with fake dramatics. What are you writing it on?"

"Microsoft Word." There was a silence that followed during which Rory realized how incredibly ridiculous her answer had been. "Oh!" She said, realization finally dawning. "I'm writing it on this lawyer who defended Mr. Sanders in court a few days ago. There was a bit of a scandal, so I'm getting the dirt."

"That's my Ace," Logan replied proudly.

"Your files, Highness," Harry announced, coming up and dropping a stack of manila folders onto Rory's desk.

"Bless you," Rory thanked him with a bow of her head before returning to her conversation with Logan.

"My files are here," she told him happily.

"So I've heard," he replied.

"Alright, I'll let you get back to your high-lighting," Rory stated with a sigh.

"Who said I ever left my high-lighting?"

"Poo on you," Rory replied immaturely.

"I thought we'd already established that fact?" Logan prodded her mercilessly.

"Shut up, Logan," Rory said with a giggle.

"I love you too, Ace."

"Bye." With that, she hung up the phone, a smile still plastered on her face. That Logan Huntzberger.

-

A few hours later, Rory had finally finished her article and sent it in to her editor. After a bit of badgering, she managed to get a new article that would be due by the end of the week. As excited as she was to get started on it, time had rolled by and it was now 7:00 in the evening. She was tired and decided to start and pack some things up. Glancing around her desk, a picture frame caught her eye. Picking it up, she smiled. She saw this picture multiple times every day, but it still made her smile every time she saw it. The picture was of her and Logan at the Life and Death Brigade gathering from her Sophomore year. Right before they were about to jump as they were looking into each others' eyes. Rory remembered that moment as if it were yesterday. She remembered Logan's words: "It'll be fun, it'll be a thrill. Something stupid, something bad for you. Just something different. Isn't this the point of being young? It's your choice, Ace. People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute. You climb up here with me, it's one less minute you haven't lived." He had been right. She wouldn't trade that experience for the world. That was classic Logan, though. Always pushing her, never doubting her. "Once in a lifetime experience!" _Only if you want it to be_.

Rory was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice the person standing in front of her until he noisily cleared his throat, causing her to jump and quickly place the frame back on her desk. "Oh, you scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he assured her. Rory took him in. He was a handsome man with tanned skin and emerald green eyes that jumped out at you. Dark brown, almost black hair that was obviously styled. He was adorned in a grey suit with a white shirt and red tie. His smile showed off his pearly whites. Everything about him screamed class. Rory couldn't help but compare him to Logan. Not that there was much comparison, she just loved noting little things that she loved about her young Huntzberger. He probably had at least twice as much money as this man, but he had learned not to flaunt it in peoples' faces. Logan would rather be in jeans than a suit any day of the week. And he would never dream of spending hours on his hair, but it always came out perfectly tousled, and Rory loved running her fingers through it.

"Chas Murdoch," he announced, holding out his hand to her.

Rory stood up from her chair and reached out to take Chas's hand. "Rory Gilmore," she introduced herself politely.

"Yes, I know," he said with a grin.

"Oh," Rory replied, not sure what to say.

"Ms. Gilmore, would you like to join me for coffee?" She eyed him suspiciously. Who was this guy? "I'm sorry, that was way too forward of me. I'm from the Los Angeles Times." Yes, he would be from Los Angeles. "I'm here strictly on business. I just thought maybe we could talk over coffee. I have a bit of a caffeine addiction and haven't gotten a proper fix since my flight this morning."

Rory smiled, glad that she finally had some background information on the mysterious Mr. Murdoch. "Well in that case," she replied, "I would love to join you for coffee. And trust me, I completely understand your coffee addiction. No one could understand better than me. I can't function without my eight cups a day."

He laughed. "Well it's good to know. Maybe you can join me at a Caffeine-aholics Anonymous meeting."

"Well, let me just get my bag," she said, walking behind her desk and grabbing it out of the corner.

"After you." He stepped aside, letting her pass before him.

"Chivalry is not dead after all," Rory observed in amusement as she walked past him.

He laughed again – obviously trying to get on her good side. "So where's the best place to get coffee around here?" He asked once they'd reached the street.

"There's a Starbucks a few blocks down," Rory answered. "Follow me."

Hey obeyed and they walked down the street together. A silence followed, but Rory couldn't decide whether it was comfortable or awkward. She wasn't really a fan of silence when it came to talking with another person, and was just about to pin it as awkward when Chas spoke up.

"So I hear you're quite the ace reporter," he told her.

Rory smiled upon hearing the 'ace'. "I try."

"From what I hear, you do more than try," Chas assured her. "I've read some of your articles. And I must say, I'm very impressed. You're not even out of college, correct?"

"I'm going into my Senior year," she explained.

"Yale, right?" Rory nodded in response. "Very impressive. Very, very impressive. I'm a Dartmouth man myself."

Rory turned to stare at him in amusement. "Is that so?"

"What? I don't scream 'Ivy League' to you?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I never said that," she assured him with a grin.

"Well, I did go to Dartmouth. Then I attended grad school at Stanford," he continued.

"A California guy at heart, huh?"

"It's my home state," he explained. "Sacramento."

"Why did you come all the way across the country for college?" She asked, intrigued.

"Well, I had always wanted an Ivy. I always liked a challenge, and I had the grades for it. I always wanted to go to Princeton – I got in, too."

"Then why Dartmouth?"

"I'm not sure…my aunt went to Dartmouth, so she had some connections there. I guess Dartmouth just fit me better," Chas explained, smiling.

"I always wanted to go to Harvard, actually."

"Yeah? Why Yale?"

"Well, that's where our stories seem similar. My grandfather went to Yale, so he had some connections there. Plus Yale is closer to my home town."

"We're not so different after all now are we?" Chas asked with a grin. It seemed like he was always smiling. "So where is home for you?"

"Stars Hollow. It's a small town in Connecticut. About thirty miles from New Haven," Rory told him, smiling as she thought about the Hollow.

"Ah, so you're a small town girl?" Chas asked with intrigue as he held the door open for her at Starbucks.

"Yup." She thanked him for holding the door for her as they went up to order. "I'll have a large Caramel Macchiato," she told the cashier, digging through her purse for a ten.

"I'll have a large expresso, and add the lady's to my bill," Chas said, whipping out his wallet.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Rory assured him.

"Please," he told her, holding up a hand. "My treat."

"Alright," Rory agreed with a shrug. She was never one to turn down free coffee. "So, Mr. Murdoch."

"Please, call me Chas," he insisted, sipping his expresso.

"Alright, _Chas_. What brings you to Stamford? And more importantly what brings you to the Stamford Eagle Gazette? You said you're from the Los Angeles Times, right?"

"Yup, I'm from the Times," he answered her. "And you bring me to Stamford and the Gazette."

Rory stopped and turned to face him. "Excuse me?"

"You're very talented, Rory." It slightly annoyed her that he called her 'Rory' without her consent, but that wasn't the most important thing on her mind right now. She suddenly started to feel very uncomfortable standing here with Chas.

"Yes, you've told me."

"Our editor sent me out here. He's also very impressed with your work and sees a lot of potential in you." Chas sighed and turned to face her. "I've got a proposition for you." There was that smile again. Rory simply raised her eyebrows instead of actually saying something. "How would you like to come and work for the Los Angeles Times?"

Rory practically dropped her coffee as her eyes bugged out of her head. "W-What?"

Chas chuckled at her surprise. "How would you like to come and work for the Los Angeles Times?" He asked again.

"No, I heard you," Rory assured him, holding up a hand. "I just…I…"

"You need time to think about it, don't worry, I understand. I've been in your position before. I know what you're feeling."

"Los Angeles. Wow. It's uh…it's intimidating," Rory fumbled with her words as they continued walking and took a large sip of her coffee.

"Nah, L.A.'s not that bad. I love it there. You would, too," Chas explained. How did he know she would love it? He didn't even know her.

"So I'd have to move there?" Rory asked the question, but knew the answer. Of course she'd have to move there.

"Well…yes. Yes, you would. But trust me, L.A. is an amazing city. And working for the Times is a great experience. I mean, this is huge. Not a lot of people get an opportunity like this, Rory – especially this early in life. I would advise you to really take that into consideration."

"Trust me, it's already being considered." Rory still couldn't believe it. Los Angeles? She'd never had the slightest urge to go to Los Angeles. She was completely happy in New England. She would always be a New England girl at heart. "I need to make a pro/con list," she mumbled.

"A pro/con list?" Chas asked with raised eyebrows.

Rory nodded. "And Logan…"

"Who?"

"Logan, my…" She smiled, finally feeling like she had the upper-hand in this conversation. "My boyfriend, Logan Huntzberger."

Chas choked on his coffee upon hearing that. "Huntzberger…_the _Huntzbergers? Like Mitchum Huntzberger?"

"Yes," Rory replied, smiling. She definitely had leverage now. While she hated using the weight of Logan's last name to get the upper-hand, she would still do it. Chas was cocky enough, she needed something.

"That's right," Chas said with a smug grin. "I forgot the young Huntzberger just graduated from Yale this past year. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, he's in London for a year?"

Rory frowned, but quickly erased it from her face. "Yes, yes he is."

"Huh," Chas said before putting the subject behind him. "Well, I'll give you as much time as you need, after all you still have another year at Yale before you would move out there. But why don't you meet me for lunch tomorrow and we can go over the specifics?"

Rory was unsure. She didn't particularly want to meet him for lunch, but she did want to know the specifics. This was an amazing opportunity. Yes, it did have many downfalls, but it wasn't something she could simply throw away without thinking over. "Okay," she agreed with a nod.

"Great. What do you say, one o'clock? I'll stop by the Gazette to pick you up."

"That would be great," Rory agreed, excited about learning more. It would be interesting to talk to someone who had as much experience as Chas. He sounded like a very smart individual and must have a lot of talent to get such an important position at a paper like the Los Angeles Times at such a young age. He looked like he was only in his mid twenties.

"It's a date," Chas confirmed with a grin. "Do you want a walk back to the Gazette?"

"Nah, you can grab a cab, it's just a short walk back to my car," Rory assured him.

"See you tomorrow, Rory," Chas said, looking her up and down before walking off to get a cab. Rory frowned at his retreating back. There was something about him. She couldn't put her finger on it. He was too cocky for his own good.

As Rory turned to walk back to the Gazette, she automatically pulled out her cell phone, intent upon calling Logan to relay the news, but stopped just before pushing the speed dial button. How would he react to this? It finally started to hit her. She would be leaving everything she knew for this job. Could she really leave Logan? Would he be back for good after this or would his father send him out on assignment to Timbuctu or something ridiculous like that. But the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times! That was such an amazing offer. She suddenly felt the need for Logan to be there. She needed him to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. That they would figure something out. She needed to figure something out.

-

So? Thoughts? That little button is begging for a click.


	4. All This Indecision

**A/N: Two chapters in one day! Am I good or what? Thank you to all of my amazing reviewers. Reviews are my anti-drug. Heh. Anywho, I added some more drama in this chapter and I'm interested to see what you guys will think. I think a lot of you are going to like how this chapter ends - but that doesn't mean you should skip right to the end, because it won't make any sense if you do. I'll let you go so you can get to reading. Bon appetite!**

-

Rory rolled over in her and Logan's bed and picked up her alarm clock. 2:28 AM. She sighed rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night. She couldn't. This whole Los Angeles Times thing wouldn't get out of her mind. There was so much to think about. Way too much to think about.

This was such an amazing opportunity. Chas was right – these things didn't come along very often, and she was incredibly lucky to have it. Sure, it meant moving to Los Angeles, but she would be working for the Los Angeles Times. One of the biggest newspapers in the country. It was her dream to work for a newspaper like that.

But Logan, New Haven, Stars Hollow, Lorelai, Luke, Lane, her grandparents…everything. How could she just leave all of that? The con part of her mind immediately kicked in. Logan would be crushed when he found out that she was even considering moving to Los Angeles. But would he even be staying in New Haven after he got back from London? If so, Rory wasn't sure she could do it. Put thousands of miles between them again. She loved him too much to do that. It was hard enough being without him while he was in London for a year, she didn't want to add time onto that. It was too hard. Even the thought of it stabbed at her heart.

Rory quickly sat up and turned on her bedside lamp. The light hurt her eyes, but she didn't have time for that right now. "That's it," she mumbled to herself irritably. Rory removed herself from the nice, warm bed and stumbled into the living room area, tripping over one of her shoes and mumbling some choice words under her breath until she finally found the cordless phone. Grabbing it, she quickly made her way back to the bedroom and flopped back down on the bed.

"Okay," she reassured herself. "This is going to be okay. Dear God, I'm talking to myself. It's way too early." She quickly pressed one of the speed dials and held the phone nervously up to her ear.

"Hello?" Came a bright voice on the other line.

Rory paused for a moment before saying anything, but then cleared her voice and responded, "Hey, Logan, it's me."

"Ace? What are you doing up, isn't it like 2:30 AM back in the states? Is everything okay?" Logan's voice was concerned. What was she doing up at that hour?

"Yeah everything's fine I just…I needed to talk to you. Do you have a minute?" Rory did her best not to let her voice shake.

"For you, I've got hours," he replied, sitting back in his desk chair. "What's up?"

Rory let out a long breath before beginning. "Have you ever heard of Chas Murdoch?"

"Hmm, can't say I have."

"Well, he came to visit me at the Gazette today. He's from the Los Angeles Times," Rory explained, leaning back against the pillows.

"Really?" Logan asked curiously.

"Yes. He said that he was here on business, so I went with him to get coffee and we talked a little bit," Rory continued, not wanting to leave anything out. "He was really nice – we talked about college. He went to Dartmouth, but anyway, onto the point. He said that he and the editor at the Times had read some of my articles and they were really impressed." Rory paused, waiting for a reaction from Logan.

"Uh-huh."

Rory sighed again before going on. "And he offered me a job," Rory blurted out. "He said that after I graduated from Yale I would move out to Los Angeles and have a job at the L.A. Times. We haven't gone over and specifics, but he and I are meeting for a business lunch tomorrow to hammer out the details. I haven't accepted anything yet. I needed to talk to you and my mom first. And I have a ton of thinking to do." There was silence on the other line, adding to Rory's nervousness. "Logan?" She asked lightly. "You still breathing over there?"

"Los Angeles, huh?"

"I know," Rory said. "Other side of the country. I don't know what to do. I mean, how often does this type of opportunity come along? A job at a paper as prestigious as the L.A. Times right out of college?"

"True," Logan agreed, his head still spinning from the recent news.

"But then again," Rory countered herself, "It's so far away, and I've never had the slightest interest in Los Angeles. It's away from New Haven, Stars Hollow, my mom…and it's away from you."

"True," Logan repeated.

Now Rory was beginning to get annoyed with him. "Logan, do you have any opinion on this whatsoever, or are you just going to agree with or repeat everything that I say?"

"Sorry," he said defensively. "I'm just taking a minute to think about it, that's all."

Rory had been expecting him to immediately tell her not to go, not for him to actually think about it. She was taken aback at his words. "Oh."

"You're right, it's a killer opportunity," Logan finally said. "And you know I want you to be successful and follow your dreams."

"So you think I should take it?" Rory asked sadly. What was this? Why did he want her to leave? What was his problem?

"I never said that," Logan immediately replied.

"So…you don't want me to take it?" Now Rory was just plain confused.

"I never said that either," he assured her.

"Well what am I supposed to do then?"

"I can't tell you what to do."

"Well you don't at least have an opinion?" Rory asked angrily. "You thousands of miles away without so much as even asking for my input, now I'm asking for yours and you have none? So you wouldn't care if I just hopped on a plane tomorrow and flew off to I don't know, Tahiti, and took a job at a paper there? Jeez Logan, thanks for the concern!" Rory knew that she was being irrational, but she couldn't help it. She was angry, upset, and confused. And Logan was doing anything to help her.

"Rory, calm down, you know that's not it," Logan replied in irritation.

"I don't know anything, you won't give me so much as an opinion," Rory spat, sitting up on the bed.

"I want what's best for you, Rory! Of course I don't want you to go, but if this is something that you really want to do, who am I to tell you otherwise?"

"You're my boyfriend, that's who you are!" Rory shouted. "So start acting like it."

"Rory, stop it," Logan insisted, trying to calm them both down. "I know you're upset and confused right now, and I'm sorry, but can't we act like adults for two seconds and talk about this rationally? Now you know that I care about you and of course I don't want you to move to Los Angeles, but at the same time, you're one of the most talented and amazing people that I've ever met. How can I deny you an opportunity like this?"

Rory felt herself tearing up. "I know," she said with a sad sigh. "I know that you care, and I want what's best for me too. But I don't know what that is right now."

"I think you just need some time to think about this," he offered gently, glad that she was finally cooling off.

"Logan, what's going to happen in a year?" Rory asked bluntly.

"What?"

"What's going to happen in a year? I mean, you'll be back from London for good, right? You're father's not going to send you off someplace for another year?"

"Well…"

"I need to know, Logan," Rory demanded.

"I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen in a year. I'm trying to come back sooner, but I don't know what my father's plans for me are."

"Well," Rory began somewhat sarcastically, "Don't you think that maybe that's something you might want to find out? That maybe, just maybe, you being gone for another year might have a teeny little affect on our relationship?"

"Rory, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop berating me for things that I don't know or can't control," Logan explained forcefully.

"I'm not berating you," Rory confirmed. "I'm just…" She sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm sick of not knowing, Logan. I'm sick of not knowing what's going to happen to us in a year…in two years. I need some sort of confirmation that we're going to be okay. I want to know that you'll be here."

"I love you," he stated. "Isn't that enough confirmation?"

"I love you, too. You know that." Rory was trying so hard to make him understand. "But I need to know what's going to happen. I can't figure out what I'm going to do without knowing."

"I don't know what to tell you," Logan said in frustration. He was not in the mood to deal with this right now.

"Yes you do."

"What do you want me to do, Rory? Do you want me to lie to you?"

"No, you know that's not what I want."

"Well I don't know what you _do _want either! I don't know what's going to happen in a year, I don't know what my father's plans are. I don't know, Rory. Can't you cut me the least bit of slack?"

"I've_ been_ cutting you slack!" Rory shouted. "I've been cutting you slack for months. You asked me not to tell you to go to London, remember? Do you remember that, Logan? But I didn't. I couldn't do that to you because your future depended on it. So even though it broke my heart for you to leave, I let you go because you needed to do it. I've been dealing for the past few months since you've been gone. I haven't complained, I've only been supportive. Now all I'm asking for is a little advice and your opinion and you can't even give me that. So thanks Logan, thanks a lot." She hung up the phone and stared at it in her hands. She was shaking with anger and frustration. Suddenly, she threw the phone up against the wall. Turning off the light, she rolled over in bed and closed her eyes, but no sleep came.

-

"No, Ralph, for the eighteen-thousandth time, I have not seen the Reynolds co-op documents," Rory snapped at Ralph, who held up his hands in defense. She had been on edge all day. After not getting any sleep that night and drinking nine cup of coffee before noon, she was just about ready to kill someone. And the article she was so excited about was turning into a nightmare.

"Sorry, Gilmore, jeez," Ralph mumbled before turning around and walking away.

Rory waved him off before returning her gaze to the computer screen and massaging her temples. This had been the worst day she'd had in awhile. She hadn't talked to Logan since their last conversation, and was a little bit angry that he never even bothered to call her back.

Oh well, she couldn't think about that right now. Right now she needed to concentrate on –

"Good afternoon, Rory," came a familiar voice.

She looked up to see Chas standing there proudly. "Ready for lunch?"

"What time is it?" She asked, more to herself than to Chas.

"One o'clock," he replied. "Remember, we have a lunch date to discuss Los Angeles."

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, I just got a little sidetracked," she babbled, standing up and minimizing documents on her computer screen. She quickly gathered her things and followed him out of the newsroom. "Where are we going for lunch?"

"I saw a little Italian place last night on my way to the hotel. I thought maybe we'd eat there," he explained, looking down at his cell phone for a moment.

"Sounds good," Rory said absentmindedly as she followed him down the street. The restaurant was only about a block away and they were seated quickly. "This is a nice place." Rory looked around at the cute little restaurant. _I'll have to take Logan here sometime_, she couldn't help thinking before mentally chastising herself.

"So have you thought any more about Los Angeles?" Chas asked after they ordered.

"A bit," Rory replied. "There's a lot to think about."

"Believe me, I know," he chuckled. "Let me guess, you're worried about leaving your family and everything you know behind, right?"

"Well…yeah," Rory admitted with a slight smile. It felt nice to be understood.

"I know exactly how you feel. I had the same apprehensions when I got into Dartmouth. I'd only ever been to the east coast once before – and that was for my interviews. Needless to say I was pretty much ignorant when it came to New England. I was scared, too," Chas explained lightly. "But I'm so glad that I made the jump and did it. Sure, I didn't get to see my family that much, but I wouldn't trade the experiences I had in those four years for anything. And my family was supportive."

Rory smiled. She knew that her family would support her no matter what she chose. She had talked to Lorelai that morning before work, and even though her mother didn't want to her leave, she understood that it was a once in a lifetime experience and wanted Rory to grab the bull by the horns.

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "It's just a lot to think about, that's all. I don't think I can make a decision yet."

"I completely understand," Chas assured her firmly. "You must have some questions though."

"Yeah I do," Rory said eagerly.

"Let me have 'em."

"Okay, well firstly, what exactly would I be doing? I mean, I'm not looking for a job as a secretary or an assistant or anything like that."

Chas laughed. "Of course you wouldn't be a secretary! You've got way too much talent to do something like that." Rory smiled at his reply. Take that, Mitchum Huntzberger. "No, Tim – the editor – and I discussed you doing some small editorial work to start, just to get the hang of things, you know? Then we thought you might go on to write some of the smaller articles. I don't want you thinking that you'll be getting front page articles like that." He snapped his fingers to make a point. "That takes a few years, but you definitely won't be bored."

"That sounds…amazing," Rory said breathlessly. "What's it like in L.A.?"

"It's just fun out there. Great parties, restaurants – and the beach! I personally love the beach. I've been around it my entire life," Chas explained with excitement in his voice.

"I just got back from the beach actually," Rory said amiably as she munched on a piece of garlic bread.

"Really? Which one?"

"Well my grandparents just bought a summer home out on Cape Cod."

"Oh man, Cape Cod is beautiful!"

Rory chuckled at his excitement. "Yeah, it was really nice."

"Well," Chas said, "L.A. isn't quite like the Cape, but it's still nice."

"I can imagine," Rory assured him. "So would I get an apartment in L.A. then?"

Chas nodded. "Yes, and we could arrange a loan for you to pay for moving expenses. We want to make it as stress-free as possible."

"That's nice to hear," Rory told him. "I could use a little less stress in my life."

"Come on, what could possibly be stressful about your life?" Chas asked with amusement.

"Oh, you have _no _idea."

"Try me."

Rory debated in her mind. Chas smiled at her, willing her to talk. "Well with school starting and everything. I've already got a big workload at the Gazette. I'm sure they'll give me a bit of a break as soon as school starts, but it's still a lot. And with Logan being in London and all…"

"Rocky relationship?"

Rory's eyes snapped up from staring at her silverware. "No," she said firmly, quickly putting a smile on her face. "Everything's fine, it's just…I miss him."

"Well of course you do," Chas nodded understandably. "So tell me about the infamous Logan Huntzberger."

Rory grinned. "He's…" she sighed with a smile. "He's talented, smart, well-read. He doesn't believe it yet, but I know he's going to be amazing running his father's company." Even though Rory was angry with him, she wasn't going to let Chas know that. And a fight didn't make her love Logan any less.

"Sounds like a great guy," Chas said with a smile as their food came to the table.

"He is," Rory confirmed with a nod. She looked down at her plate of pasta as her stomach rumbled. "This looks delicious."

They finished around two o'clock. Chas led her out of the restaurant and they began to walk together back to the Gazette. They made casual conversation all the while. He stopped when they reached the building and turned to Rory. "Well I hope I quenched some of your thirst for information about the Times and Los Angeles in general."

"Oh, you did. And thanks again for lunch," Rory thanked him.

"You're quite welcome. Now I'll be in New Haven for about another week or so. If you have any questions – about anything, don't be afraid to call. You have my number?" Rory nodded. "Great. And Rory, I'd love to have lunch with you again, or we could do dinner?" Chas ventured.

"I don't know," Rory said uneasily, shifting from one foot to another and staring down at the sidewalk.

"Just to talk," Chas assured her. "It's really easy to talk to you, Rory."

"Can I get back to you?" Rory asked timidly.

Chas paused for a minute, his smile disappearing momentarily. "Sure. Call me." Rory nodded. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder before turning around and walking down the street. Rory stood there, watching him leave. She gently held a hand up to her shoulder where he had squeezed it.

-

Rory left work early that day and returned to her apartment around four o'clock. She quickly dropped her bags on the floor and walked over to sit down on the couch. Grabbing the cordless phone – which to her surprise that morning, was not broken – she quickly dialed Logan's cell phone number. He still hadn't called her, and she desperately needed to hear his voice.

"Hi, this is Logan," came the voice from his answering machine. "I'm not here right now, so leave your name, number, and a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Rory sighed, and decided to just leave a message.

"Hey, it's me. Just calling to see how you are. I had lunch with Chas Murdoch today about that L.A. thing and I thought you might like to know some of the details. And I'm uh…I'm sorry, Logan. I miss you. Bye." Rory pressed the 'End' button and dropped the phone next to her onto the couch. She jumped when it rang a second later.

"Hello?"

"Hey," came the familiar voice of Logan. Rory relaxed upon hearing it.

"Hey, you. Did you get my message?"

"No, I just saw that you called when I got out of the shower," Logan explained.

"Oh, well…I had lunch with Chas Murdoch today."

"The guy from the Los Angeles Times?" Logan asked, quickly drying his wet hair with a towel.

"Yeah, he gave me some more information about the job," Rory told him, leaning back into the couch.

"Yeah, like what?" Rory could hear movement on the other line as he got dressed.

"Well, he said that I would probably start out doing some light editorial work, and eventually progress into writing some smaller articles. Nothing front page – that takes years, but hey, it's better than nothing."

"Sounds good," Logan said indifferently, causing Rory to frown.

"Yeah, it does," she agreed half-heartedly.

"So I talked to my dad about his favorite subject – my future," Logan said with a sigh.

"Really?" Rory asked, intrigued. "What did he say?"

"He's not sure what's going to happen after London. I asked him if he had any idea at all, but he just blew me off. Said I'll know as soon as he does," Logan explained.

"Oh." Rory didn't try to hide her disappointment. "Is there a possibility of you going away again?"

"There's always that possibility, Rory. For all I know I'll be in Hong-Kong tomorrow, you know that."

"Well sorry," she said in annoyance. Couldn't he at least try and humor her?

"So how was your lunch with Chas besides talking about L.A.?" Logan asked, doing a bad job at masking the bitterness in his voice.

"It was very nice, thanks," Rory confirmed, equally as bitter. "He said he understands where I'm coming from. Like I told you before, he went to Dartmouth. Even though he'd lived in California his entire life."

"Well, he sounds like a very interesting person."

"I'll let him know you think so."

"Please do."

"What's your problem, Logan?"

"_My _problem?"

"Yes, Mr. Jolly-Pants, _your _problem," Rory said angrily.

"I'm sick and tired of arguing with you, Rory," he told her. "It doesn't get us anywhere."

"Well then don't argue with me," Rory stated simply.

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is. Why don't you try being a little supportive for once."

"Supportive! I have always supported you, Rory! I supported you when you wanted to take a break from Yale – I didn't agree with it, but I understood that it was something you needed to do. I supported you when you decided to go _back _to Yale. And I'm doing my best to support you with this, but is it _so _bad that I don't want you to move across the country and put even more distance between us?"

"So you're the only one that's allowed to leave, huh? I'm just supposed to sit here and wait until you get back! Sorry, Logan, that's not who I am," Rory yelled.

"Rory, you know that's not it," he said, more calmly this time.

"No, I get it. You can go off to wherever and pursue your dreams, but I can't. I have to sit here and just wait for you like a good little girlfriend."

"Rory," he pleaded.

"Y'know what, Logan? Just forget it." With that, she hung up the phone. When she put it down, her hands were shaking. What had just happened? Her eyes watered and a lump formed in her throat. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out Chas's business card and placed it on the coffee table before her. She didn't let any tears follow, and instead grabbed her keys, quickly grabbing her purse and rushing out the door, barely remembering to lock it behind her.

What was going on with her and Logan? Why couldn't he just support her like she had supported him? Did she really want his support though? It would be so much easier if he just flat out told her not to go. That wasn't Logan though. She couldn't believe she had even thought he might do that. _Poor Logan_, she thought to herself. _How can he possibly be there for me when I don't even know what I want? I'm treating him like dirt and he doesn't deserve it at all. _Rory pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial button for his cell phone as she drove. It rang and rang, but then went to voicemail. "Dammit," she mumbled, quickly hanging up. She pressed the button again. "Pick up, pick up, pick up." Voicemail again. _Damn it all to hell!_

She sped down the road towards Stars Hollow. Her mom would know what to do. Oh God, what had she done? _Logan…_Her mind raced as she continued to drive. Suddenly, an exit sign caught her eye and an idea popped into her mind. Quickly, she swerved across two lanes to get off at the exit, almost causing an accident, and making her the recipient of many honks. "Sorry!" She yelled to no one in particular.

Rory got off and followed the signs towards her new destination. It took her about another half an hour before she entered the parking area, and another fifteen minutes to find a spot. She turned off her car and quickly grabbed her purse before running. She ran as fast as she could in heels. It was so crowded here. As she stood impatiently in line, Rory's mind continued to buzz. The Los Angeles Times…a once in a lifetime experience. _Only if you want it to be_. She smiled at that.

"Can I help you?" Came an annoyed voice. Rory looked up and realized that she was next.

"Yes," she said, immediately stepping forward and placing her purse on the counter. "When is your next flight to London?"

-

A shoter chapter, but there's also more descriptions and things like that. Please review and let me know what you think!


	5. Coffee With A Black Card

**A/N: Wow! You guys are amazing! Thank you for all of the reviews! Seriously, it means a lot. Here we have the long-awaited for chapter five. It's fluffy, happy, and fun. It's also kind of a filler chapter. I'm not very happy with the end of it, but I hated keeping you guys waiting, so here it is. I hope you enjoy:)**

-

After spending the night in the airport, Rory got on her 7:00 AM flight to Heathrow the next morning. After a seven hour flight, plus a five hour time difference, she arrived in London around 7:00 PM. Rory had gone over several scenarios in her mind. She would just run to his office and kiss him. Or, no, that was too forward…she would sit him down, tell him to simply listen, and she would talk. Tell him she was sorry. Well, she should tell him she's sorry no matter what. Rory went over her speech in her mind hundreds of times:

"Logan, listen. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I did. I had no right to yell at you, and you have always supported me. Thank you for that. I've just been so mixed up inside over this L.A. Times thing. And I understand that you can't know everything about what's going to happen in the next year or so. I'm trying to accept it. I want to accept it. I love you." And then she would kiss him. Or should she kiss him as soon as she saw him? Gah, this was annoying.

Rory exchanged her American money for English pounds after going through customs. She didn't have much cash. Barely enough to get a cab ride to Logan's office building. It was 7:30 – he usually stayed until before 9:00. After securing a taxi and relaying her destination, she sat back in her seat and sighed. _I'll see him soon._ The cab ride seemed to take hours instead of only thirty minutes to the business district.

There it was. Logan's office building. And she was right, she barely had enough money to cover the taxi fare. Getting out of the cab, Rory closed the door and stood there simply staring up at the building. It was bigger than she had imagined. Probably about fifteen stories. The overcast sky looming overhead made it seem even more intimidating. "Wow," she breathed.

Finally getting herself together, Rory made her way towards the front door, but was stopped by a security guard. "Pass," he demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"Miss," he addressed her in a charming British accent, "You need a pass to get into the building."

"But I…why?"

He looked at her strangely. "Company policy," he explained. Rory sized up the man. He was a tall, probably about 6'2", black man with eyes that reminded her of Logan's. Overall, he was handsome, but Rory wasn't focusing on that right now. Right now, he was standing between her and Logan.

"I'm Logan Huntzberger's girlfriend," she explained, as if that would cover everything.

"Of course you are," he said amusedly.

"No," Rory corrected him. "I'm Rory Gilmore."

"Tim Daniels, nice to meet you," he said with a grin.

Rory frowned. "I'll call him and tell him that I'm here myself," she announced, whipping out her cell phone.

"Tell him I say 'hello'."

Rory scowled at him and flipped open her phone. Turning it on, 'low battery' flashed on the screen before it turned itself off. "No," Rory groaned. She looked up at Tim again. "My uh, my phone's dead."

"Sorry to hear that, Ms. Gilmore," he told her plainly.

Rory sighed in frustration. "Look, can't you just…tell him that I'm here?"

He laughed at her. "You make it sound like Mr. Huntzberger and I are chums. No I can't tell him that you're here. If every person who asked that got their way, Mr. Huntzberger would never get out of work," he said, shaking his head.

"But I'm his girlfriend!"

"Yes, I'm aware of that, and I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do for you."

"Listen!" Rory yelled at him, narrowing her eyes. "I just spent the night at the airport, and caught a 7:00 AM flight here. Then I sat on a seven hour flight in coach. I'm tired, and I just spent my last bit of cash on a taxi! I have no money on me, my cell phone is dead, and now you're telling me I can't even see the person I did all of that for!"

"If you want, you can wait until Mr. Huntzberger leaves. I know for a fact that he's still in his office. Shouldn't be more than an hour." Tim's eyes sympathized with her, but there was simply nothing he could do.

Rory rubbed her temples and groaned. "Fine, I'll go sit next to that bird…statue thing," she said, waving her hand towards the statue that stood adjacent to the front door.

"It's a griffin," Time explained.

"Right." Rory walked over to the statue and slumped down onto the base of it. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. A passing breeze caused her to shiver. She was only wearing a short sleeved blouse and black dress slacks. Wrapping her hands around herself, she suddenly wished she had worn something warmer. She stared at Tim pleadingly, but the security guard did his best not to look at her. With a grunt, Rory turned her head to look around. Being the business district, there weren't many tourist attractions around, but the buildings themselves were pretty, and Rory enjoyed watching the cars drive on the wrong side of the road.

About ten minutes later, she felt a drop. _Oh no_. Turning her face up to the overcast sky, the heavens suddenly opened. Rory gasped, jumping up and running over towards Tim, who simply stood there as if it wasn't pouring rain.

"Tim!" She screamed, doing her best to be heard over the pounding of water. "It's raining!"

"Yes, Ms. Gilmore, I can see that!"

"Please, Tim, please!"

"I'm sorry!"

Rory yelled out in frustration before stubbornly walking back over to her griffin statue and plopping down again. Within minutes, she was soaked through and shivering. She glared at Tim.

A few minutes later, a black limousine pulled up in front of the building, and Rory's mind began turning. Then, as if on cue, the front doors opened and Logan walked out, holding a newspaper over his head to try and shield himself from the rain. Rory stood up and watched as he walked quickly towards the limo. He was almost there when Rory's vocal chords woke up. "Logan," she said, but he couldn't hear her over the still-pounding rain. "Logan!" Still nothing. "Logan!" That did it.

Logan stopped just as he was reaching for the door handle and looked behind him. His face turned quizzical upon seeing Rory. She stood there, soaking wet and shivering. "What are you doing here!" He yelled in order to be heard over the rain.

"I had to see you!"

"What!"

"I had to see you!" She yelled louder.

"You flew all the way here just to see me!"

Rory was suddenly tired of yelling over the rain. She had a better way of getting her point across. She ran toward him through the rain. Once to him, Rory stopped and looked into his eyes. Logan slowly lowered the newspaper from over his head, allowing himself to be pounded on by the rain as well.

Without another word, Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Logan automatically encircled her waist with his arms and pulled her to him. The pounding rain fell on deaf ears as Rory lost herself in Logan. Finally, for the first time since he'd left that second time, she felt truly happy.

They pulled apart after a few moments and Logan gazed at her adoringly before his brows creased upon taking her in fully. "You're shivering," he told her.

"Yeah, well, I've been waiting for awhile," she explained, barely managing a smile as her teeth chattered.

"Come on," Logan said, ushering her into the car.

Before she got in, Rory glanced back at Tim who was still standing in front of the door. She smiled at him, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly in response. He gave her a wink.

Rory slid into the leather seat of the limo, quickly followed by Logan who shut the door behind them. The car immediately began to move.

"Ace," Logan said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Rory began after her teeth stopped chattering, "After our fight last night, I felt really bad and I realized I was being irrational. So I tried to call you back, but you didn't pick up. Then I was going to see my mom, but I decided to see you instead. So," she sighed, "I drove to the airport, bought the last ticket on a 7:00 AM flight to London, spent the night at the airport, and now here I am."

Logan smirked at her story. "You're crazy," he observed, shaking his head.

"It's fun to be crazy. But, as I found out, it is _not_ fun to spend the night at the airport. For future reference."

"I'll be sure to remember that. Now, are you okay? How long were you waiting outside?"

"Half an hour maybe," Rory told him. "Tim wouldn't let me in."

"Tim?"

"The security guard."

"Oh yeah, well it's company policy. Why didn't you just call me? I would have gotten you in."

"I was going to, but my phone died and I had no cash on me after the cab fare."

"Well that would explain it," Logan stated absentmindedly.

"Explain what?"

He chuckled. "I was trying to call you all day, but you didn't pick up at work and your cell phone kept going straight to voicemail. I thought you were ignoring me. Little did I know…"

"Ha! Hardly," Rory retorted.

They reached Logan's apartment about fifteen minutes later. It was still pouring rain as he guided her into the building and up the elevator to the top floor. "Wow," Rory murmured upon entering the penthouse. "This is really nice."

"Yeah," Logan agreed. "Come on, I'll get you some dry clothes." She followed him through the living room and down a wide hallway to the end door which led into the master bedroom. Logan walked over to his dresser and pulled out some sweatpants, a T-shirt, and an old Yale hoodie. "Here." He tossed them to her. "The bathroom's right behind you, there should be clean towels in there."

Rory caught the clothes and thanked him before turning around and walking into the bathroom. After locking the door, she placed his sweats by the sink and closed her eyes with a sigh. She was finally here with Logan.

Rory slowly dried herself off and slipped into the clothes Logan had given her. She tightened the cord around the waist of his sweatpants as tight as she could to make them stay. His clothes practically drowned her, but Rory didn't mind. They smelled like him and that soothed her. After pulling the sweatshirt over her head, Rory finished drying her hair until it was just damp and not dripping wet.

Rory opened the door, but found the bedroom empty. "Logan?" She called out.

"In the kitchen, Ace!" Rory smiled at that. She was glad that he was back to calling her Ace. She loved that nickname.

Rory followed the small of fresh coffee back down the hallway and into the kitchen. "Here you go," Logan offered her a big mug of coffee.

"Thank you," Rory said with a gracious smile, taking the mug and sipping the hot coffee. She walked into the living room and sat down on the leather couch. It reminded her of the one that was in Logan's old dorm at Yale. She glanced around the apartment. In true Huntzberger style, it was huge – even bigger than Logan and Rory's apartment back in New Haven.

Logan followed her into the living room and sat down next to her on the couch. Rory scooted closer and leaned against him. Logan responded by wrapping an arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss atop her damp hair.

"I missed you," Rory murmured.

"So I see," he replied with a grin. "I can't believe you flew all the way over here. And you spent the night at the airport?"

"And here I thought you would be happy to see me," Rory said with a melodramatic sigh.

"You know I'm happy to see you," Logan assured her with a smile, leaning in to kiss her. She pulled him closer, wanting to lose herself in him again. She missed that feeling. Rory stood, pulling Logan with her. She quickly pulled off his T-shirt, before replacing her lips on his. Rory began backing out of the living room into the hallway, all the while not putting any distance between herself and Logan. Getting the message, he gently lifted her off the ground, causing her to giggle as he carried her towards the bedroom.

-

Rory blinked her eyes open. Ouch. It was bright. She lifted her head off of Logan's chest and looked up to see him smiling at her. "Good morning," she greeted, sitting up to give him a quick kiss.

"Morning, Ace."

"What time is it, don't you have to go to work?"

"It's 8:30 and it's Saturday – I have the day off today," Logan explained.

"Oh."

"So I was just thinking, does anyone know you're here? You didn't just take off without telling anyone, did you?"

"Yeah, I called everyone that needed to know from the airport. Work's covered for the next few days – I just have to e-mail an article by tomorrow afternoon, and my mom knows where to reach me," Rory reassured him.

"Okay, good."

"Come on," Rory said, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of bed. "We burned off a lot of calories last night and I don't know about you, but I'm starving." He followed her down the hallway into the kitchen.

"Sorry to let you down, Ace," but I barely have any food. "I don't do a lot of cooking here."

Rory turned around to face him and frowned. "Then what do you suppose we do? I really don't feel like going anywhere for breakfast."

"Me either," he agreed. "We can just order in."

"Order in breakfast? You can do that?"

"Of course."

"Whoa, I love this city."

Logan laughed and walked over to a corkboard he had on the wall. Scanning it, he finally found what he was looking for removed a piece of paper. "Here's the number of a place nearby that has every breakfast food you could ever imagine," he explained, handing it to her. "I'm going to go shower. Order anything you want."

"You do realize it's very dangerous telling a Gilmore that?" Rory asked, taking the piece of paper and eyeing him curiously.

"Yes, I'm well aware of the danger."

"Anything I want?" She checked.

"Go crazy," he urged with a smile.

"Oh, I will."

"Good." He kissed her before going to take a shower.

Rory smiled and walked over to the phone. Picking it up, she dialed the number. Someone picked up immediately. "Hi, I would like to order two stacks of six chocolate – chip pancakes, four blueberry waffles, two chocolate-chip muffins, two banana nut muffins, four large coffees, half a gallon of milk, six slices of French toast, four slices of regular toast, a dozen chocolate glazed donuts, a bowl of mixed fruit, and, oh, a lot of maple syrup, and some butter, too."

"Will that be all?" Asked the amazed person on the other line.

"Yeah, I think that's it."

"Do you have a tab here?"

"Umm, is there one under the name 'Huntzberger'?" Rory asked, unsure.

"Yes, there is. Your food should be there in about twenty minutes. Thank you for your order, Mrs. Huntzberger."

"Oh, I'm n…I mean…yes, thank you." Rory quickly hung up the phone as a smile came across her face. Mrs. Huntzberger…she liked the sound of that.

Logan walked into the living room just as two men were setting down all of the food Rory had ordered on the table. He smiled at all of the bags and Styrofoam containers. The amount of them didn't surprise him at all.

"Thank you," Rory said before closing the door and turning around to find Logan standing there, shaking his head. "You said 'Go crazy'," she reminded him, walking over to the table and taking a seat.

"I know," Logan confirmed, sitting down across from her.

"Coffee?" Rory asked, handing him a large cup.

-

"Full, Rory announced forty-five minutes later as she sat down next to Logan on the couch.

"Very full," he agreed.

"Like I might explode."

"If you do, explode over in that general direction," he said, pointing away from himself. "I just showered."

"I'll keep that in mind," Rory assured him. There was a moment of silence as Rory downed the last bit of her coffee. "So…"

"So?"

"I guess it's time we had the talk," Rory ventured uneasily.

"Ah yes, the dreaded talk."

Rory smiled and leaned back into the couch. "But no fighting this time. We're going to discuss this like the mature adults that we are."

"This coming from the girl that just ate six chocolate-chip pancakes, two blueberry waffles, three slices of French toast, a muffin, and what was it…three or four donuts?"

"Not the point, Huntzberger," Rory said with a shake of her head.

"Okay, not the point," he agreed, nodding. "The Los Angeles Times is the point, I'm guessing?"

"Wow, you're a quick one," Rory noted sarcastically.

"Alright," Logan said with a sigh, pulling Rory closer to him. "You want my advice?"

"I would love your advice," Rory confirmed.

"Okay. You're right, this is a big opportunity and deals like this don't come around very often. It's definitely something to consider." Logan held her gaze as he continued. "Look, I don't want to be selfish and say that you can't take this job because I would miss you too much. That would be way too hypocritical."

"This is true." Rory nodded.

"I think I need to talk to my father. Again. Last time I talked to him was somewhat blasé about the whole thing because I was angry. I think if I take a serious approach to the subject, he will, too," Logan explained. "Until then," he gave Rory's shoulder a poke, "I think you should still keep considering it. I mean, for all we know I might end up in L.A. as well."

"Now wouldn't that be convenient?" Rory asked, somewhat amused at the prospect of it.

"Way too convenient for the real world," Logan confirmed, smiling at her.

"But then there's the whole subject of my family, my friends, Stars Hollow," Rory went on. "I'm going to miss all of that, too."

"Well, that's something you can also take into consideration," Logan advised her. "I mean, getting a job at the L.A. Times is great and all, but what good is all that if you're miserable while you do it?"

"Yeah I guess…I guess I never really thought about it that way," Rory admitted, momentarily lost in the thought. After a moment she looked back up at him and smiled. "I love you."

Logan leaned down and kissed her deeply. "I love you, too," he murmured softly.

Rory snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped securely around her waist. She could feel his chest move up and down as he breathed, and the soft, rhythmic beating of his heart. For the first time in the past few days or weeks, she let go of everything. The fear of what was going to happen, or better yet, the fear of not _knowing _what was going to happen. She pushed all of those thoughts out of her mind and simply enjoyed right here and right now. She loved this feeling. She loved to be loved, and when it came thoughts like that, there was no indecision. Logan loved her, and she knew that. It was simple. The fact that she loved him was probably the simplest thing in her life right now. She didn't need to rethink it or re-examine it. And it made her happy. In the end, isn't that what everyone wants? Just to simply be loved. It was one of the simplest things in life, but the hardest to obtain. Rory had it now, though, and she wasn't willing to let it go. She would fight for it, and if that meant not taking the L.A. job, then so be it. She would take Logan's advice though; she would keep considering it.

-

"Ace? Ace, wake up." Logan gently shook Rory until her dreary eyes opened.

"Mmm?" She groaned, sitting up slightly and yawning.

"It's time to get up," Logan explained, getting off the bed and walking over to his dresser.

"What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock," he answered.

"What? Why are you waking me up at seven o'clock?" Rory demanded, glaring at him.

"Because last night you told me to wake you up at seven so you could finish your article and e-mail it in to Harry," Logan reminded her as he concentrated on tying his tie.

"Oh." With that, Rory pushed down the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "When do you leave?"

"In half an hour," he replied, reaching for his suit jacket. "There's coffee in the kitchen."

"Thank you," she mumbled, stumbling down the hallway and into the kitchen where she poured herself a steaming mug of coffee.

A few minutes later, Logan appeared. He was fully dressed in his suit and ready to face the day. "So I know this is last minute and all," he began, taking a seat across from her at the table, "But there's a charity event I have to go to tonight. It's black tie – the whole shebang. Do you want to go?"

"Anything to spend time with you," Rory agreed with a smile.

"I assure you, it will be boring. Lots of high-society people trying to make business deals with each other and talking about golf and polo," he assured her.

"I think I can handle it – I've had practice."

"We'll leave as early as we can."

"Logan, stop trying to convince me to go after I've already agreed to it – twice," Rory said in amusement.

"Alright, good." Logan smiled at her.

"I have nothing to wear though," she reminded him. "I mean, I know you think I look absolutely stunning in your sweatpants, but I'm not sure if these people will agree."

"Right, well, we will have to remedy that," he announced, standing up and pulling out his wallet. Removing his black card, he handed it to her. "Get whatever you need."

Rory stared at the card with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure," he told her with a shrug. "Now, I've got go get going. The event starts at seven o'clock, so a car will be here to pick you up a little after six thirty. I'll meet you there."

"Okay."

Logan rounded the table and placed two hands on her shoulders, bending down to give her a kiss goodbye. "I love you," he reminded her as he headed for the door.

Rory simply smiled as she repeated the three words and watched him go. She returned her gaze to the table and the American Express black card sitting before her. Now she couldn't wait to get her article out of the way.

-

"Okay," Rory announced as she got into the back seat of the limo. "Where is the best place in London to buy a dress?"

The driver simply stared at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Right," Rory stated in resignation. "You're a guy." She thought to herself before an idea popped into her head. "Oh! Can I go to Harrod's?"

The driver didn't answer, but instead began driving. Rory sat back and smiled. She opened the window and gazed out happily. Life was good right now.

-

Four hours later, Rory emerged from Harrod's. After finding the perfect dress, she also bought some every-day clothes. Unsure of how long she would remain in London, Rory figured it was best if she had normal clothing to wear also. She was currently adorned in the same clothes that she had arrived to London in. Thankfully, they had been washed since then.

The limo driver put her bags in the trunk, and Rory was about to get into the back seat again when something caught her eye. Starbucks. "Wait right here," Rory told him as she quickly headed towards the coffee shop. She'd only had three cups that day.

Walking in, she took in the heavenly scent and walked over to the counter. "I'll have a large coffee, please." The cashier rang up her order just as Rory realized something. She had no cash on her. Timidly, she pulled out Logan's card. "Do you take credit cards?"

-

**A/N again: Rory will still be in London in the next chapter. I plan on writing the charity event, etc. I'm still not sure how long she's going to remain in London. And even though he's not really in this chapter, you have not seen the last of Chas Murdoch! Now review to all of your heart's content!**


	6. No Pea Soup

**A/N: Chapter six, yay! I tried to get it up as fast as possible. I've been kind of busy the past few days though. I have all these books I have to read before school starts and eww. I don't want school to start! But let's not talk about that right now. I wanted to share with you guys one of the inspirations for this story. "Until The World" by The Afters is a great song, and I think it really gets across some of the points in this story. Listen to it or read the lyrics and I'm sure you'll understand. I love that song and I listen to it a lot while I'm writing this story. There are other inspirations as well, but that's one of the main ones. Now, get reading!**

-

Rory looked at herself once more in the mirror before deciding that everything was perfect. Her midnight blue ball gown fit perfectly, hugging her in all of the right places. It was a sleeveless V-neck gown, and the soft, silky fabric felt like water when it brushed her legs as she walked. A small slit up the left side gave her plenty of room to move and revealed her black, lacey high-heels.

She hadn't done anything particularly special with her hair. After toying with a few ideas, Rory simply decided to let it fall in soft, natural waves over her shoulders. Putting a hand up to her neck, she couldn't help but think that one thing was missing. A necklace would have been the cherry on top of an otherwise flawless outfit, but Rory didn't have one with her. Oh well, not to worry. Brushing off the thought, Rory quickly grabbed her purse and walked into the kitchen just as a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Coming!" She called, carefully walking over to the door and opening it. The limo driver from that afternoon smiled at her.

"Your chariot awaits," he announced as Rory locked the door behind them and followed him out of the apartment building.

Rory glanced at the clock once she was in the car and saw that it was 6:45. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't the faintest idea where they were going. Logan hadn't even told her where it was. Rory shrugged. _I guess it will be a surprise. _

Gazing out of the window, Rory couldn't help but think what a beautiful city London was. Especially at night – the lights were magnificent. Rory knew that Logan missed home, but how could he not be enjoying himself even in the slightest? He was living in London, for heaven's sake. London, which now rivaled New York and Boston as Rory's favorite city. London had an air to it that Rory herself couldn't even explain. It was historic, exciting, and homely all at the same time. It reminded her of Boston, but only slightly.

Before she knew it, the limousine had stopped and the driver was opening the door for her. She timidly exited the car and looked around. There were huge steps in front of her leading to a very large banquet hall, illuminated in the fading light of the evening. A fountain stood just before the steps, and even where Rory stood, she could feel the softest mist emitting from it. People were milling around, all dressed similarly to her – either in tuxedos or fancy gowns.

Rory's eyes fell on a familiar face as she found Logan walking towards her with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He had an adoring smirk on his face and Rory couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Ace," he greeted, once she was in earshot. Removing his hands from his pockets, Logan gently wrapped his arms around her waist and placed a light kiss on her cheek. "You look amazing."

"You don't look half bad yourself," Rory replied, unable to wipe the smile on her face as they began walking towards the building.

"Wait," Logan said, suddenly stopping. Rory turned and looked him curiously. "I have something for you." He reached into his pocket again and removed a black velvet jewelry box.

"For me?" Rory asked giddily.

"No, it's for Doris, I just want anther woman's opinion before I give it to her," Logan replied with a sarcastic grin.

Rory smiled as he placed the box in her hands. She almost gasped upon opening it. Inside was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was silver with three studded diamonds on either side of a hanging, tear drop-shaped sapphire. It was beautiful and elegant while maintaining a certain simplicity. "Logan, it's beautiful," she whispered.

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile. He gently clasped it around her neck and she turned around to face him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. They broke apart after a few moments, and simply stood there, gazing into each others' eyes. "I love you," Rory murmured. Logan responded by simply kissing her again.

"And," Rory said as they continued towards the banquet hall, "It matches my dress."

They entered the tune of violins, laughter, and conversations. Rory was amazed, not just at how fancy everything was, but at how big the banquet hall was. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and ceiling-to-floor windows surrounded the entire room. "Come on," Logan said, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her through the people milling around.

"Do you know all of these people?"

"Some of them," he replied.

"Logan!" Came a gruff voice off to the right.

Rory looked over and saw a tall, intimidating man standing, waving off a waiter that offered him h'ors doeuvres,

"Mr. Westbrook," Logan greeted and he and Rory walked up to the man. "It's nice to see you."

The man grunted. "Hardly. I hate these stupid charity events," Mr. Westbrook grumbled. Rory suppressed a giggle. "Mindless socialites milling around and complimenting each others' cufflinks."

Logan cast a sideways glance at Rory as Mr. Westbrook looked on. "Edward, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore. Rory, this is Edward Westbrook. He works in reinsurance."

"Nice to meet you," Rory greeted politely.

"Yes," he agreed shortly.

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Rory spoke up again. "So reinsurance, what is that exactly?"

Mr. Westbrook looked at her curiously, obviously not expecting her to ask such a question. "Well, your insurance companies have insurance. That's where we come in. It's very complicated."

"It sounds interesting," Rory said with a smile.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, turning the corners of his mouth up ever so slightly.

"Well, Edward, I think it's time we make the rounds," Logan said at length. "It was nice seeing you."

He grunted again before turning around and making off in another direction. Logan immediately turned to Rory. "You amaze me sometimes," he said with a grin.

"How so?"

"You got Mr. Westbrook to almost smile. I don't think he's smiled since the gala of '84," Logan explained incredulously.

"Why, what happened at the gala of '84?"

"Oh, the Swiss Re sponsored boat caught on fire," Logan answered as they continued walking through the ballroom.

"And he smiled at that?"

"He wouldn't be the Edward Westbrook we all know and love if he didn't," Logan pointed out with a smirk. "Oh, here we go. Chester!" Logan guided Rory up to a middle-aged couple.

"Logan, good man, nice to see you," Chester greeted him with a handshake. He turned to Rory next. "And who is this lovely creature?"

"Chester, this is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore," he said proudly. "Rory, I'd like you to meet Chester and Heidi Wilcox."

"Nice to meet you." Rory held out her hand to each of them in turn.

"Rory, your dress is divine," Heidi admired. "Come, come, you must meet the girls."

"Oh, I," Rory stuttered. She looked at Logan quizzically.

"Logan, may I borrow her for a few minutes?" Heidi asked.

"Take her," he agreed with a smile, leaning in and kissing Rory on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be right over here." Logan slyly whispered the last bit into her ear just before Heidi pulled her into the other direction.

"Quite a catch, that Logan Huntzberger," Heidi stated as Rory fell into step beside her.

"Umm, thank you," Rory responded.

They pulled to a stop a few yards away in front of three other women. "Rory," Heidi introduced. "This is Lydia Atkins, Marian Hotchkiss, and Belisma Wentworth. Ladies, this is Rory Gilmore, _Logan Huntzberger's _girlfriend."

Rory took in the three women. Lydia and Belisma, like Heidi, were somewhat overweight, but Marian was a stick. The contrast was somewhat intriguing. All three had on long, flowing gowns of various shades. "Rory," Lydia said, hanging on the word. "That's a very interesting name for a girl."

"Well my real name is Lorelai," Rory explained. "I'm named after my mother."

"After your mother?" Belisma asked in astonishment. "You know, that is typically a tradition carried on by men."

"Yes, well, my mother's very headstrong. She figured that if men can do it, women can do it, too," Rory continued with a smirk.

"Where in America are you from, Dear?" Prodded Heidi. "Somewhere in New England, I'm assuming, seeing as _Logan _lives in that area."

"Yes, I'm from Connecticut. A small town outside of New Haven."

"A small town, how quaint," Belisma offered condescendingly.

Rory glanced at Marian who had yet to say a thing. She was about to ask her something when Heidi spoke up again. "Where did you meet _Logan_?"

"At Yale."

"You went to Yale?" Lydia asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, I still do actually. I'll be entering my senior year."

"Yale is a fine school," Belisma stated. "And here I took you to be mindless."

Rory stared with wide-eyes at the woman's bluntness.

"How long have you and Logan been together?" Asked Lydia.

"A little over a year and a half."

"How charming," Heidi observed. "And he hasn't proposed yet?"

Rory nearly choked. "Oh, no, we haven't…well you see…I haven't even graduated yet." The four of them stared at her as if they couldn't see a point in that at all.

"You are going to get married, aren't you?" Belisma asked as if not doing so was a cardinal sin.

"Well…" Rory had absolutely no idea what to say. Of course she'd thought about her future with Logan, but they were just being so blunt.

"These ham wraps are delicious."

Heidi, Belisma, and Lydia turned to look at Marian as if her hair were on fire. "Ham wraps?" Belisma asked with a furrowed brow.

"Ladies," came the voice of a savior. Logan came up behind Rory and wrapped an arm around her waist. "How is everyone this evening?"

The three aforementioned women smiled at Logan. "Wonderful, Logan," Heidi replied sweetly. "We were just having a nice conversation with your charming girlfriend."

Logan glanced over at Rory who shot him a pleading look. Immediately getting the message, he looked back at the other women. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I need to take her back now."

"Oh, well, I do hope you have a lovely evening," Belisma wished them with a kind smile.

"Thanks, we will," Rory said, taking Logan's hand and pulling him along after her. He laughed as they walked away. "You just rescued me from a lion pit."

"Sorry, Ace. I really had to discuss a few things with Mr. Wilcox, though, and I figured you could handle yourself for a little bit," Logan explained.

Rory sighed and leaned into him as they walked. "It's okay. Those women are crazy though."

"Believe me, I know," he assured her. "That's part of the reason I hate coming to these charity events."

"Hey, what charity is this for anyway?"

Logan was silent for a moment as he racked his brain. "I have no idea."

"I'm sure you're not alone in that."

"I bet half of the people here don't even know it's a charity event," Logan guessed.

"No, probably not," she agreed. "Certainly not those four."

"Were they really that bad?"

"Dench-worthy."

"I thought that was me?"

"They were much worse."

"I'll take your word for it," Logan said with a grin as he kissed the top of her head. "Oh, do you see that man and his wife over there?"

Rory followed Logan's gaze and saw a very elderly man and woman standing together. "Yes, I see them."

"That's Mr. and Mrs. Kensington. He's the richest man in this entire room," Logan explained.

"I think he's also probably the oldest," Rory guessed.

"Let's go say hi. Mr. Kensington is a friend of my father's." Logan grabbed Rory's hand and pulled her along after him. "Robert, it's great to see you."

The man looked Logan up and down. "Ah, Logan Huntzberger?" He inquired, his voice scratchy. Logan nodded, confirming his inquiry.

"Robert, this is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore."

"Huh?" Richard, shouted, moving closer to Logan so he could hear better.

"Rory Gilmore!" Logan shouted, pointing in Rory's direction.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Glory." Richard extended a hand. Logan was going to correct him, but then decided against it.

Richard pointed to his wife. "Louise," he stated loudly.

"It's nice to meet you, Louise," Rory greeted, offering her hand.

"What?" Louise asked, moving closer.

"It's nice to meet you!" Rory repeated.

"I hate pea soup!" Louise yelled right back.

"No, no," Robert said in annoyance, turning to his wife. "Meet you, not pea soup!"

"No, Richard, no pea soup!" Louise shouted at him.

"What?" He asked, obviously unable to hear her.

Rory cast a weary glance at Logan, whose hand was covering his mouth in an attempt to hold back laughter.

"Robert, who are these people?" Louise looked at Logan and Rory in confusion.

"Logan Huntzberger," Richard shouted, leaning closer to his wife so that she could hear him. "And his little girlfriend, Glory."

"It's Rory," she corrected, leaning in closer to the elderly couple.

"Oh yes, _Rory_," Richard said as if he's forgotten. "Logan, how's the paper?"

"It's good," Logan said loudly. "Thank you."

"Tell Mitchum I said hi!"

"I'll do that," Logan assured him.

"The chandeliers are pretty!" Louise announced.

"Yes," Rory nodded in agreement. "Yes they are."

"Huh?"

"Yes they are!"

"Oh, yes," Louise said excitedly.

"If you'll excuse us." Logan offered a nod to the Kensingtons and lightly took Rory's elbow to lead her away.

"No, Richard, no pea soup!"

Rory couldn't help but laugh now. "Oh man, these charity events certainly are amusing," Rory decided, lacing her fingers with Logan's.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Logan assured her.

-

Later that night, Rory found herself snuggled against Logan on the couch. BBC News was on, but Rory wasn't paying much attention that that. Her mind was drifting. The fundraiser had been…interesting, to say the least. It got boring once they had to be seated. Speeches were made, and it turned out it was a charity for underprivileged British schools. Mr. Kensington ended up making a sizable donation after he realized that this was, in fact, a charity event and not a wedding reception.

Rory's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Another thing she'd bought at Harrod's was a charger. She hadn't expected to find one there, but who knew that Harrod's sold electronics? That store was amazing – you could get clothes, a TV, a riding helmet, and groceries all in one trip.

Rory leaned forward and grabbed her cell phone off of the coffee table. "Hello?"

"Rory? It's Chas Murdoch."

"Oh," Rory said in surprise. "Hi, Chas." Logan glanced over at her upon hearing the name, but she rolled her eyes to signal the insignificance.

"I uh, I haven't heard from you in a few days. I called the newspaper and they said you were out of town for awhile," he said confusedly.

"Yes, I'm in London with Logan," Rory explained.

"Oh." There was silence on the other line. "I didn't know you were planning on going to London."

"It was kind of spur-of-the-moment." Rory looked over at Logan and smiled, taking his hand in her own. "I had to see him."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes," she assured him, "Everything's perfect."

"Have you talked to him about the Los Angeles Times?"

Rory frowned at the mention of it. "Yes, I'm still considering it. There's no rush, right?"

"Well," Chas responded at length. "We would like to know as soon as possible, I mean, there _are _other people up for the position."

Rory immediately sat up straight. "What do you mean? You made it sound like I had all the time in the world."

"You do have time," Chas said defensively. "Maybe not all the time in the world, but you definitely have time."

"Well how much time exactly?" Rory asked in frustration.

"We were hoping for your answer within a month."

"A _month_?" Rory asked, astonished. "That's not a lot of time."

"Well we just figured that a month would be time enough to figure everything out. I mean, come on Rory, how long do you need to think about this? I thought the answer would be pretty obvious," Chas almost chuckled as he said the last sentence.

"No, it's not obvious. This is a really hard decision for me, Chas," Rory spat back. Logan now sat up as well and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Rory, this is the _Los Angeles Times_," he said powerfully.

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"Well, you keep thinking about it. And get back to me about that lunch, alright?"

"Okay," Rory replied with an annoyed sigh. "I will."

"And come back soon! New Haven misses you."

"Oh, I'm sure it does," she responded sarcastically. "Bye."

With that, she flipped her phone shut and looked over at Logan. "That was Chas."

"Yeah, I figured as much. What did he want?"

Rory rubbed her forehead as she leaned back into the couch. "He was just calling to casually inform me that they need my answer in a month. And then he went on to say that it should be an easy decision. Apparently, the right answer is 'obvious'."

"Well what happens if you don't give them an answer within a month?" Logan asked with a furrowed brow.

Rory shrugged. "I guess they're going to offer the position to someone else. First, he comes in telling me I have all the time I could possibly want, no rush, don't worry. And now all of a sudden he needs my decision as soon as possible because there are other people up for the position."

"Well, I'll talk to my father as soon as I can – tomorrow if it's possible," Logan said, trying to comfort her.

"Thank you." Rory leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes I wish that I never got offered this job," she admitted.

"Hey," Logan said gently, "Don't say that. It's an honor to get an offer like this. And it was only a matter of time."

"Only a matter of time?" Rory raised her eyebrows in intrigue.

"Well, someone was bound to come across your amazing work eventually," he explained with a smile.

"Brown-noser," Rory chastised lovingly.

"Hey, I resent that." He gave her shoulder a light shove.

"Oh," Rory giggled. "I'm sorry. But you're _my _brown-noser."

"Come here," Logan said, pulling her close and pressing his lips firmly against hers.

"Logan?" Rory asked with a smile as she pulled away from him.

"Yes?" Logan gazed into her eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, smiling right back at her and brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

"Do you love me?" She loved playing this little game – asking questions that she already knew the answer to.

"Ace," he replied with a sigh, "You have no idea."

-

Awww. Your thoughts are only a button click away!


	7. Life Is A Highway

**A/N: Ahh! It took me like ten tries before FF would let me upload this chapter. Annoying. Anywho, sorry it's been a few days. I'm working on this story as much as I can, but I've started packing for school and finishing up my work. No, I don't go to college - I'm not that old. I go to boarding school. It's a school like Andover or Deerfield - some of the ones mentioned on the show. I'll be a Junior this year, but I've been going there since Freshman year. I've wanted to go to Harvard since I was five and my dad's friend - an alumni - told me it was the best school in the world. While that's a matter of opinion, I've just always wanted to go there. Now you can see what another one of my attractions to Gilmore Girls is:) That and the fact that it's the best show ever. Hehe. And now that you know a little bit more about me, you can read chapter seven! Yay!**

**-**

Rory dragged her suitcase into the elevator of her apartment building in New Haven. It felt strange returning with a suitcase even though she'd left without one. After her five days in London she'd ended up having to get one, though. Brushing hair out of her eyes, Rory quickly pressed the button for the top floor.

Being in London with Logan had been amazing, blissful, and relaxing. She hadn't wanted it to end, but as cliché is it is, all must come to an end eventually. He'd waved to her from the metal detectors though, which she couldn't help but laugh at. Rory wondered when she would see him next. Guy Fawkes day was the plan, but when it came to her and Logan's relationship you just never knew. She enjoyed their surprise visits to each other. It made their relationship more exciting and unpredictable.

A ding signaled her arrival on the top floor, and Rory quickly turned to get her suitcase. Turning around, she backed out of the elevator, pulling her suitcase along behind her. Once out, she stopped and dug through her purse for her keys. Upon finding them, she turned around, but immediately stopped and almost dropped them. Rory completely froze, unsure of what to do.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, after a minute of silence.

"I had to see you."

"You shouldn't have come here." Rory shook her head and took a step backwards.

"Rory, please. I want to apologize," he pleaded with her.

Rory shook her head again and grabbed her suitcase. She determinedly walked towards the door, passing him in the process. Without missing a beat, he followed her. She tried to ignore him, and reached out to put her key in the lock. Gently, unthreateningly, he touched her shoulder, asking her to stop.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled, turning on him in rage. "You don't get to touch me."

"Okay, I'm sorry!" He held his hands up in defeat.

Rory sighed, and crossed her arms in front of her. "What do you want, Dean?"

"I need to talk to you. I need to apologize," he explained desperately.

"Fine," she agreed shortly.

"Can we go inside?"

"No."

"Alright. I guess that's understandable," he admitted.

"I thought you were going to apologize," Rory stated more than asked. She looked at him sternly, unblinkingly.

"Right," he reminded himself with a nod. "I am really, really sorry about that night. I had no right to show up here that night. I was drunk, I was upset. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn't thinking."

"You can say that again," Rory scoffed.

"Rory, I shouldn't have said those things to you, but like I said, I was drunk and upset," he continued. "I'm just…I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

There was a pause for a few moments as Rory let his words sink in. "You hurt me," she finally said. "Not just physically, but…it hurt to hear you say those things."

"I know." Dean nodded his head. "And I'm so sorry for all of that. I'll never be able to forgive myself for grabbing you, for saying all of the things I did, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, you could forgive me. Or at least start to forgive me. I'll do anything, Rory."

She stared at him, arms still crossed defensively. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Did you mean what you said?"

He looked taken aback at this. "Well, I…" He stuttered, unsure of how to respond. "I guess…I mean…" Dean sighed and scrunched his eyes up in frustrated though. "I think that part of growing up and moving on is accepting the fact that sometimes you love a person, but they can't love you back." He paused to look at her. "I do love you, Rory. You were my first love. I think it's a different kind of love now, but it's still love." He paused again, but his eyes remained on her. "I understand, though. You're in love with Logan. I don't expect anything." He sighed upon finishing, but Rory remained silent. "Now…would be the time to say something."

"I don't really know what to say." She hesitated on the words and stared in fixation at the ground.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything right now," Dean assured her with a slight smile. "I just needed you to know that I never meant to hurt you, and I'm sorry. I hope that maybe, someday you can forgive me. Hey, maybe we can even be friends." He waited until she finally looked at him again. "I really am sorry, Rory."

He gazed at her for another moment before turning around and slowly walking towards the elevator. Rory watched him walk away, her mind racing.

"Dean," she finally said.

He turned around to look at her. He wasn't angry or upset, his face was simply blank. "Thank you," Rory said at length, allowing herself a small smile. He smiled back before getting onto the elevator.

Rory unlocked her and Logan's apartment and dragged her suitcase in behind her. Leaving her suitcase at the door, Rory walked over to the couch and flopped down. Not a moment later the landline rang. Rory groaned as she leaned over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Rory, it's your grandmother," came Emily's harsh voice.

"Oh, hi Grandma," Rory replied in surprise as she sat up, obviously not expecting a call from her grandmother.

"Well," Emily said dramatically. "I'm surprised you even remember who I am."

"What?" Rory asked, baffled.

"You didn't have the slightest courtesy to inform me that you'd be leaving the country. I had to find out second-hand from your mother when she showed up to Friday night dinner alone," Emily explained in annoyance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Grandma. It was really last minute."

"You had the time to call your mother and the Gazette I'm sure, but of course you can't spare five minutes from your busy life and call your grandmother to inform her that you're leaving the country!"

"Grandma," Rory attempted to reason, "Like I said, it was very last-minute. I was crushed for time, I had to spend the night in the airport. I'm sorry I didn't call you."

"Heaven forbid you should call me once you were in London," Emily continued, still angry. "I'm sure you had absolutely _no_ time while you were there either."

"Well –"

"Did you say that you spent the night in the airport?" Emily asked, appalled. "Why on earth would you do such a thing? That's not proper at all."

"I had a seven AM flight and it took me a long time to finally get a ticket," Rory explained tiredly.

"If you had simply called me in the first place I could have gotten you there much quicker," Emily assured her smugly. "But of course I'm undeserving of information concerning my granddaughter's whereabouts in the world."

"Grandma, you know that's not true."

"Yes, yes it is true, Rory. You didn't even consider the effects that your globe trotting might have on anyone else," Emily complained, not even giving Rory a chance. "You can't just go gallivanting off like Carmen Sandiego!"

"Grandma, that wasn't my intention. I didn't think that –"

"That's right, you didn't think," Emily said angrily.

Rory sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry, I was under a lot of stress and I just…" Rory suddenly decided that saying she had forgotten probably wasn't the wisest choice at this point in time. "I just had a lot of things going on. I was tired and upset. I'm sorry, Grandma."

"Yes, well, you should me. Richard and I are expecting you this Friday night for the dinner you robbed us of. Goodbye." The phone clicked and Rory groaned as she pressed the 'End' button and sank down in the couch.

She couldn't move. She was tired, stressed, and now she was cranky as well. Jet-lag was a horrible, horrible thing. Rory willed herself to move, but couldn't. She was too tired. "One, two, three," she counted out loud, quickly sitting up on three and getting off the couch.

Dragging her feet, she walked into the kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee. Glancing at the microwave clock, she saw that it was only 3:00 in the afternoon making it 8:00 at night in London. _I should probably give Logan a call and let him know I got in okay_.

Walking back over to the couch, she picked up the cordless phone and quickly dialed Logan's number as she meandered back into the kitchen. He picked up after three rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," she said, trying to sound cheery, but failing miserably.

"Hey you, how was your flight?" He asked, leaning back in his desk chair, happy to have a distraction from work.

"It was nice – much better than the last one."

"Now aren't you glad I made you fly first class?" He asked knowingly.

"Maybe…"

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Think whatever you want," Rory said with a huff. "I'm so tired."

"Yeah well, jet-lag will do that," he informed her with a smile.

"Hate jet-lag; must kill jet-lag," Rory told him as she took a mug out of the cabinet and poured herself some coffee.

"Be quiet and drink your coffee."

"How did you…am I really that predictable?"

"When it comes to coffee, you are."

"I don't like being predictable," she whined. "I want to be mysterious, otherwise you'll lose interest."

"You're very mysterious," Logan assured her.

"You lie."

"I do not lie, and stop talking like Tarzan."

"I will talk in whatever manner I please," Rory gave her best attempt at a snotty British accent.

"Your accent is still horrible."

"You hush."

"Do I need to start referring to myself in the third person?" He warned.

"Oh God no, anything but that."

"Logan can be mean, too," he teased, knowing that people talking in the third person was one of her pet peeves.

"I yield."

"Logan: one, Rory: zero," he said with a smirk.

"You referred to yourself in third person again," she observed, sipping her coffee.

"Did not – oh wait, I did, didn't I?"

"Mmhm."

"I'll stop now. That really is annoying."

"So I've barely been home for half an hour and already have had the pleasure of two confrontational conversations," Rory informed him after a pause in their conversation.

"Oh really?" He asked curiously, and Rory could just picture him raising his eyebrows.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I got out of the elevator, and guess who was standing at the apartment door, waiting for me."

"Chuck Norris," Logan ventured.

"No; Dean." There was silence on the other line, and Rory could tell the news had surprised Logan. "Don't worry, nothing happened. He just came to apologize. He said that he didn't mean to hurt me and that he had no right to do what he did."

"Uh-huh."

Rory sighed before continuing. "He went on to say that he hoped I could forgive him one day and we could be friends. I asked him if he meant what he'd said." Rory paused for a moment, composing herself before she spoke again. "And he told me that he still loves me, but in a different way. And he understands that I don't and can't love him back, because…well, because I love you." She smiled at the last bit.

"I see," Logan finally said. "Well, it was nice of him to clear the air with you."

"Yeah, it was," Rory agreed, happy that Logan wasn't upset about the whole thing.

"Did you forgive him?"

"No yet. I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive him yet. I thanked him, though."

"Well, one day you'll be ready," Logan reassured her. "So what was your second confrontation?"

"Right, well after Dean left I go into the apartment and I'm there for like a minute when my grandmother calls."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Rory confirmed evilly. "She started berating me about how I didn't even have the decency to inform her that I was leaving the country. She said that she had to find out from my mom when we didn't show up at Friday night dinner together and that that was simply unacceptable."

"Ouch," Logan sympathized.

"Yes. And there was something about Carmen Sandiego. Oh, and she expects me this Friday night because I 'robbed her' of last Friday night's dinner." Rory sighed.

"Man Ace, you just can't catch a break tonight, can you?"

"Well," Rory said dryly, "Life is a highway. I wanna ride it."

"All night long," Logan supplied with a grin.

"Jeez, Huntzberger. We're not even on the same continent and yet you still try to work blue."

"Every little bit helps," he informed her, still grinning.

Rory sighed and sipped her coffee again. "I should probably let you go," she finally said.

"You need to get some sleep," he informed her.

"Yes that and…oh my God." Her eyes widened in realization.

"What?" He asked, almost concerned. There was no reply. "Rory, you alright over there? Did Emily just burst through the door with a machine gun? Rory, talk to me."

"I'm starting Yale in less than two weeks," she finally responded.

"Yes," Logan replied, unfazed. "Your point being?"

"My _senior year _at _Yale _starts in less than two weeks," she revised, her eyes still bulging.

"Don't worry about it, senior year's not that much different from any other year," he assured her.

"This is going to be so weird. I mean, you're not going to be there."

"Well, you survived Freshman year without me. And I'm just a phone call away," he assured her.

"Yeah," she agreed, drawing out the word.

"You okay, Ace?"

"What?" She jumped. "Yeah, I'm fine." Rory rubbed her forehead before sighing. "I think I just need to go to bed. Even though it's barely past three o'clock."

"Yes, go to sleep," Logan insisted.

"Alright, I'm going." She stood up and began to make her way towards the bedroom.

"Sweet dreams."

"Bye, Logan," Rory said, shaking her head with a chuckle. Rory hung up and then proceeded to flop down onto the bed. She didn't even remember her head hitting the pillow.

-

Rory was surprisingly happy to be back at work. She only had a little over a week to enjoy it while it lasted. It was nice to have an agenda, plus she loved being in the newsroom. The thrill of getting that new story was something she lived for.

Chas Murdoch had called her twice that week, reminding her that they needed a decision soon and that she still owed him lunch. Rory was doing her best not to focus on the L.A. job and had surprisingly gotten Chas to agree to give her an additional month after she promised him lunch. Yes, she was bad, but was also willing to donate a kidney for more time on this decision.

A moment later her desk phone rang. "Hello?" Rory asked, sitting back in her chair.

"My father is an asshole," came an annoyed voice.

"Tell me something I don't know," Rory replied with a snort.

Logan grunted out of anger. "I'm at my apartment right now, packing."

"What?" Rory asked, sitting up slightly. "Packing for what?"

"When I got back to work this afternoon after a business meeting, there was a note waiting for me from my father informing me that a plane would be leaving for Sydney, Australia in four hours and I was going to be on it," he explained, all the while trying to button up his dress shirt.

"Australia," Rory stumbled over the word. "You're going to Australia?"

"It's news to me, too," he informed her with a sigh.

"Well, for how long?" She asked, not able to help the emotion in her voice.

"I don't know. It could be a week, it could be a month. For all I know I'm moving to Australia. I am so sick of having no say in my life," he complained angrily. "For once I wish I could just tell him no."

"What's the time difference in Australia?"

"I think it's fourteen hours ahead or something like that," he guessed, still attempting to pack.

"Fourteen hours!" She exclaimed.

"Rory, I know this sucks, but we just have to deal with it. I'll call you whenever I can, but we might have to tone down the minimum of two phone calls a day. I mean, I'm going to be busy with meetings around the clock, and with you starting Yale in about a week…"

Rory sighed and rubber her temples as she sat back in her chair. "I'm going to miss you," she admitted sadly.

"I know," Logan replied with a slight smile. "I'm going to miss you, too. But I have to do this, you know that."

"I do, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Hey, have you had that conversation with your father yet?"

"No, I haven't gotten the chance. I'll talk to him first thing when I get back though," Logan assured her weakly.

"Okay. Oh, I got Chas to give me another month."

"That's good to hear," Logan congratulated her. "Listen, I've got to go. My flight leaves in two hours."

"Okay. Call me as soon as you can. I love you, Logan."

"Bye, Ace. I love you." With that, he hung up, leaving Rory sitting in her chair, still holding the receiver up to her ear and listening to the dial tone.

Logan was going to Australia for God knows how long. Rory swallowed the lump in the throat and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. No, she would _not _cry. Crying never solved anything and this was no exception. She was sick and tired of crying. It made her feel weak, and she knew she wasn't weak. With a soft sniffle, she hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. "This is going to be okay," she assured herself. "I just need to focus on my article. Okay."

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," came a familiar voice. Rory looked up to see Lorelai standing there.

"Mom!" She squealed, jumping up and hugging her mother.

"Rory!" Lorelai squealed as well as they hugged each other tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Rory asked incredulously as they separated.

"Well I haven't seen you in ages, so I decided to come here and kidnap you. Force you to eat lunch with me," Lorelai explained with an evil grin.

"It's Friday, Mom – I was going to eat dinner with you at Grandma and Grandpa's," Rory reminded her with a grin.

"Yeah, but that's no fun," Lorelai scoffed and waved her off. "Come on, ditch work and come out to lunch with me."

"Well…"

"Come on, Rory, please," Lorelai begged, pouting.

"Alright, alright. Let me just get my stuff."

"Yay!" Lorelai exclaimed immaturely as Rory grabbed her things. "So where do you want to go?" Lorelai asked once they'd reached the parking lot.

Rory sighed in resignation. "Luke's," she announced.

"Luke's as in Stars Hollow Luke's?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Yes."

Lorelai was about to say something, but then grinned. "Luke's it is. I'm driving."

-

"Luke!" Lorelai yelled half an hour later as she and Rory walked into the diner. "Ror-Ror's here! Come feed us!"

Rory and Lorelai took a seat at a table as Kirk walked up. "What can I get you ladies?"

"Kirk, you don't work here," Rory told him.

"Yes I do!" He insisted. "I have an apron and everything."

"Kirk, your apron says 'Winner, 2003 Mother-Son Cake-Off'," Lorelai explained, looking at him sympathetically.

Kirk looked down at his apron. "Yes, but it's still an apron, signifying that I am a cook."

"Kirk get out!" Luke grumbled, coming up next to him with a pad and paper. "Hey, Rory."

"Hi, Luke," Rory said happily.

Kirk stalked off and plopped down at the counter.

"What'll it be?"

"A large coffee," began Lorelai, "And a double cheeseburger with a side of chili fries."

"Oh, me too!" Rory exclaimed. "But I want onion rings, too."

Luke shook his head as he wrote it down. "How your arteries aren't clogged still amazes me."

"Wow, thanks for the words of comfort, Sweetie," Lorelai said sweetly. "I love you, too."

"You know what I mean." Luke turned on his heel and walked off to prepare their lunches.

"I missed Stars Hollow," Rory announced a moment later.

"Stars Hollow missed you," Luke said as he came over and poured them each a big cup of coffee.

Rory smiled up at him. "I missed Luke's coffee most of all." Rory picked up the mug and took a big gulp.

"So," Lorelai said excitedly, "What's the what in the life o' Rory? How was London, how's the Gazette, come on, tell me something."

"London was amazing, but we talked about that on the phone last night. The Gazette is busy, and I'm so excited for school to start!"

"You are the only kid I've ever known who used to sing along to the songs on those going back to school commercials," Lorelai reminisced sadly.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year," Rory sing-songed. "I can't believe I'm going into my senior year at Yale though."

"Seems like only yesterday you were in diapers."

"Those were the good old days," Rory said happily.

"So how are things with Logan?"

"Ugh, his father's making him go to Sydney for awhile," Rory explained with a frown.

"Sydney as in Australia?"

"Finn's homeland, yup," Rory confirmed with a nod.

"Is streaking illegal in Connecticut?" Kirk asked, walking up and standing next to their table.

"The fact that you would even ask that is very disturbing to me," Lorelai dead-panned.

"And on that note, let's just say that yes, yes it is," Rory added with a scrunched-up nose.

"Damn," he mumbled, walking away slowly.

"This town hasn't changed one bit," Rory said happily as a double cheeseburger with chili fries and onion rings was placed before her.

-

Yeah, the end is weak. I have some ideas for the next few chapter though. And now you can review and tell me what you think!


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